Preview: Hellas Verona vs Lecce - prediction, team news, lineups

Defeat could confirm relegation for Hellas Verona this weekend, so the Gialloblu will be under extreme pressure to produce when they host Lecce on Saturday evening.

The two Serie A strugglers are all set for a high-stakes clash at Stadio Bentegodi, where the visitors also need points to aid their fight for top-flight survival.

Match preview

After an eight-year stay in Serie A, Verona are skirting the trapdoor to Italy's second tier, and with five rounds remaining they lie 10 points adrift of safety.

Surely doomed to the drop, Hellas have lost all of their last five fixtures - scoring just one goal in the process - and a sixth consecutive defeat might send them down.

The Gialloblu would be consigned to Serie B as soon as this weekend, should they lose to Lecce while Cremonese pick up points against Napoli.

Staring at the prospect of demotion being confirmed in front of their own fans, Paolo Sammarco's side were beaten 1-0 by AC Milan last time out, and they will remain in Verona this weekend.

It has been a bleak campaign for supporters to endure at the Bentegodi, as their team have produced just one win from 16 home games so far, with Sammarco's mid-term appointment making little impact.

Now, a repeat of November's 0-0 draw down in Lecce might keep Hellas afloat for at least another week, but victory is all but essential.

Having dangled above the drop zone for most of the season, Lecce now occupy 18th place in the table, so time is running out to stave off relegation.

Losing form at just the wrong time, the Salentini have picked up one point from their last five fixtures, while only scoring two goals.

Having collected nine points from the previous five - finding the net seven times during that hot streak - it has been quite a downturn for Eusebio Di Francesco's side.

Though they eked out a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina on Monday, no team has scored fewer goals across Europe's top five leagues, and such an acute lack of firepower could cost them dearly.

With the bottom two surely doomed, it looks likely that Lecce will fight Cremonese to avoid finishing third-last in the Serie A standings, and neither side has a straightforward run-in.

Before visiting Verona and Pisa for back-to-back away games that could define their campaign, the Giallorossi have taken no points from their last four road trips, so Di Francesco will demand a timely end to that drought.

Hellas Verona Serie A form:

W L L L L L

Lecce Serie A form:

W L L L L D

Team News

Verona's top scorer Gift Orban has failed to find the net since January, and he may lose his place following a public altercation with a Hellas supporter last week.

Therefore, Sammarco will hope Kieron Bowie and Amin Sarr have fully recovered from an illness that kept them out of the defeat to Milan; fellow striker Daniel Mosquera is set to undergo knee surgery.

The hosts are also missing long-term absentee Suat Serdar, while wing-back Daniel Oyegoke and midfielder Tomas Suslov are ruled out by ankle problems.

Lecce will be without their defensive rock on Saturday evening, as Tiago Gabriel - who has won the most duels in Serie A this season - must serve a suspension.

Medon Berisha, Kialonda Gaspar and Sadik Fofana are all sidelined by injury, while wide men Lameck Banda and Riccardo Sottil both face fitness tests.

In better news for Di Francesco, Milan loanee Francesco Camarda has returned from a long layoff; albeit, he may not yet be ready to challenge misfiring strikers Nikola Stulic and Walid Cheddira for selection up front.

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Valentini; Belghali, Akpa Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Bradaric; Harroui; Bowie

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Veiga, Siebert, Jean, Gallo; Ngom, Ramadani, Coulibaly; Pierotti, Stulic, Banda