Preview: Torino vs. Hellas Verona - prediction, team news, lineups

Two of the leakiest defences in Serie A face off this weekend as Torino host second-bottom Hellas Verona in Friday’s 32nd round.

Verona are nine points from safety with seven games to play, leaving them needing a result at a ground they have not won at in 12 years to offer a glimmer of hope to fading chances of relegation.

Match preview

Che Adams was the hero for the Granata last time out against Pisa as the Granata ended a five-match wait for an away victory since January, a run featuring four losses.

The goal snapped a two-month run without scoring for the former Southampton forward, who now aims to play a significant part for Roberto D’Aversa’s team, seeking consecutive top-flight wins for the first time since December, when they defeated Cremonese and Sassuolo.

The Turin outfit have reason for optimism, having secured back-to-back league wins in front of their supporters against Lazio (2-0) and Parma (4-1), and having notched three home wins in four, losing only to Bologna during that period.

That highlights the home side’s confidence heading into Friday, especially as gameweek 32’s visitors have not beaten the hosts in 14 years.

That historical advantage stands the Bull in good stead as they bid to extend Verona’s wait for a positive result in Turin.

The Mastiffs, for their part, need a swift turnaround in fortunes over the next few weeks to survive what seems to be an unwinnable battle.

You would forgive supporters for thinking that a 2-1 success at Euro-chasing Bologna would do them some good; however, interim boss Paolo Sammarco has seen his team lose three in succession.

Doubly worrisome is their inability to find the back of the net in those losses to Genoa (2-0), Atalanta (1-0) and Fiorentina (1-0), especially as they continue to concede.

Pisa are the only team to have conceded more goals than Verona, whose 53 goals against equals the tally of their weekend hosts; however, the visitors do not score as prolifically as Torino, who have netted 13 more goals than the Mastiffs' 22 heading into Friday’s encounter in Turin.

Ending their 303-minute run without conceding will be the first step towards safety, as only by scoring will Verona have any shot at clawing back the nine-point deficit on 17th-placed Cremonese with 21 points left to play for.

Torino Serie A form:

Hellas Verona Serie A form:

Team News

Torino came through last week’s win over Pisa unscathed, but the hosts are still without Duvan Zapata (thigh) and Zanos Savva (knee), while Zakaria Aboukhlal’s muscle issue will be assessed.

Although Giovanni Simeone did not score against Pisa, the forward is expected to start alongside last weekend’s match winner, Adams, aiming to add to his run of scoring three goals in five appearances since the start of March, two of which have come in the last three league games.

The away side are without Tomas Suslov after the attacker’s dismissal against Fiorentina in gameweek 31.

Definitely ruled out for the Yellow and Blues due to injury is Suat Serdar, who is absent with a severe knee issue, while Armel Bella-Kotchap and Sandi Lovric are injury doubts.

Gift Orban leads the scoring charts for Verona with seven, five more than three teammates, Rafik Belghali, Martin Frese and Serdar, but the Nigerian has not scored since January, firing blanks in his last seven league appearances.

Torino possible starting lineup:

Paleari; Coco, Ismajli, Ebosse; Pedersen, Prati, Gineitis, Obrador; Vlasic; Simeone, Adams

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Frese; Oyegoke, Akpro, Gagliardini, Harroui, Belghali; Bowie, Orban

We say: Torino 2-1 Hellas Verona

Torino and Verona are rather leaky at the back, giving the Mastiffs the chance to end their unwanted sequence without scoring.

However, the Turin hosts are significantly superior in the attacking third, and their higher-quality match winners should help to inflict the away side’s fourth consecutive league defeat.

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