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

Torino will be looking to move six points clear of the relegation zone when they travel to Hellas Verona on Sunday afternoon.

Il Toro have claimed four points from their last two away matches, while the hosts have lost seven of their last nine Serie A games.

Match preview

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Hellas Verona ended a run of four successive Serie A defeats with a 1-1 draw at home to Spezia last weekend.

Eddie Salcedo headed in his second goal in three matches to put the hosts in front just a minute after the break, but the Gialloblu were unable to hold onto their lead as substitute Riccardo Saponara equalised for the visitors in the 86th minute.

Verona remain in 10th place but moved three points clear of Udinese, who sit just inside the bottom half of the table.

After winning three consecutive home matches between January and February, Verona have since gained just two points from their last six games at the Marcantonio Bentegodi; the Gialloblu have not gone more than seven home fixtures without a victory since 2016.

Ivan Juric's side drew 1-1 away at Torino earlier this campaign, but securing all three points on Sunday could see them climb to ninth in Serie A, where they finished last season.

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Torino boosted their chances of Serie A survival when they claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at home to relegation rivals Parma last weekend.

Left-back Cristian Ansaldi brilliantly weaved his way to the byline and cut the ball back for Mergim Vojvoda, who tapped in the only goal of the game to secure three crucial points for Il Toro and relegating the visitors to the second tier of Italian football.

Head coach Davide Nicola, who took charge of the club in January, has guided his new team to three wins in the last five league matches, which has moved them three points clear of the drop zone with a game in hand on all of their rivals.

Torino head to Verona having won only four times away from home this season, although three of these victories have been in 2021, one more than they managed in the whole of 2020.

Securing all three points on Sunday could see Il Toro move six points clear of 18th-placed Benevento, who they will face on the final day of the season.

Team News

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Hellas Verona boss Juric is unlikely to make many changes from the side that drew with Spezia last weekend.

Adrien Tameze will serve a one-match suspension, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last Saturday, so Ivan Ilic is set to start in central midfield alongside Stefano Sturaro.

Ronaldo Vieira remains out with a thigh problem, while club captain Miguel Veloso has had surgery on a neck injury and remains sidelined.

January signing Kevin Lasagna has failed to shake off his unproductive spell in front of goal at previous club Udinese, but Juric is set to keep faith with the 28-year-old forward, which is likely to see Salcedo, Nikola Kalinic and Andrea Favilli begin on the bench once again.

As for Torino, Nicola has no injury or suspension concerns heading into this weekend's game.

Midfield pair Simone Verdi and Rolando Mandragora are back from suspension and are both set to return to the starting lineup at the expense of Daniele Baselli and Sasa Lukic.

Striker Andrea Belotti – who has been linked with Premier League trio Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham United – has failed to score in seven previous meetings against Verona, but the Italian is set to start up front alongside Simone Zaza.

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Silvestri; Dawidowicz, Magnani, Dimarco; Faraoni, Ilic, Sturaro, Lazovic; Barak, Zaccagni; Lasagna

Torino possible starting lineup:

Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Bremer; Singo, Rincon, Mandragora, Verdi, Ansaldi; Zaza, Belotti

We say: Hellas Verona 1-2 Torino

Six of the last seven meetings between Verona and Torino have been drawn, with the Gialloblu winning the other encounter 2-1 in February 2018.

The visitors are in better form heading into this weekend's fixture, and we can see them securing a narrow victory at the Marcantonio Bentegodi to boost their hopes of Serie A survival.