Hellas Verona – Empoli

Verona to pick up a crucial win against Empoli

Two successive defeats and the parallel success of La Spezia have made the end of the season very difficult for Verona. With two games to go, the Hellas are 18th and one point behind their place in the table. That said, if they are tied on points with the Ligurians, the Mastiffs will find themselves lower due to their worst record in head-to-head encounters. The team is three points behind Lecce and will be ahead of the Wolves if they score the same number of points. Empoli and Milan are the opponents for Marco Zaffaroni. Last time they took on Bergamo in the previous fixture. In a very competitive fixture (as evidenced by the statistics), Verona lost 3-1 to Atalanta. It was Hellas who took the lead thanks to a Lazovic goal in the 11th minute. In terms of xG, the opponents played out an evenly matched 0.97-1.17 (according to the understat portal). Before that, the Hellas lost 0-1 to Torino and beat Lecce. Empoli have secured their place in the table in recent games. The Tuscan side have picked up ten points in four games, which is good enough to secure their place. On the last matchday, Paolo Zanetti's charges sensationally demolished Juventus FC from Turin 4-1. It is worth noting that Verona play very well at the Marco Antonio Bentegodi this year. Thus, the team have played ten home games in 2023 and lost only three times. Meanwhile, the Mastiffs have defeated Cremonese, Lecce, Salernitana, Sassuolo and Bologna. At the same time, they have been drawn against Monza and Lazio. These results are quite telling, as the Jaloblu successfully played their neighbors in the standings. Empoli have lost their tournament motivation, and also play poorly in away games. Thus, in the past five away matches the team have only collected two points (against Milan and Sampdoria). At the same time, the club's xGA away metric is clearly out of line. Thus, the Azzurri should concede 8.39 goals more according to this statistic. Obviously, only one team will be motivated to win this meeting. Verona should by no means postpone the issue of keeping their place until the last round. Marco Zaffaroni's side are expected to put in a full display.