Separated by just one point in the Serie A standings, relegation rivals Cagliari and Hellas Verona will meet at Unipol Domus on Friday evening.
Both teams seem set for a long battle against the drop, having shipped goals at an alarming rate over the past few weeks.
Match preview
After ending a run of three consecutive defeats by holding AC Milan to a dramatic 3-3 draw, Cagliari returned from the international break by salvaging another point with a late strike in Genoa.
Davide Nicola's men led after just eight minutes at Marassi, but after letting that lead slip they were ultimately grateful to record a 2-2 draw, with Roberto Piccoli converting a crucial penalty against his former club.
Demonstrating their resilience, only high-flying pair Lazio and Atalanta BC have claimed more points from behind so far this season, though Cagliari are often left with a deficit to make up because of their leaky defence.
A source of serious concern for Nicola is that his 16th-placed side have conceded at least two goals in each of their last six league games, as they head into the final fixture of November.
Next month starts with a couple of tough tests against Fiorentina and Atalanta, but first the Rossoblu must face a direct survival rival.
As nine of Cagliari's 10 victories over Verona have come on home soil, history will be on their side - albeit, they have not won any of the teams' last four meetings in Sardinia.
Including a home win and an away draw last term, Verona are unbeaten in their last nine top-flight matches against Cagliari, which represents the Gialloblu's longest undefeated streak against any opponent in Serie A.
Also sitting one point above their hosts in the table as things stand, there are apparently grounds for optimism - at least on the surface.
However, after a 5-0 thrashing by reigning champions Inter Milan last weekend, no other club has conceded more goals across Europe's top five leagues in 2024-25, and Verona's 'goals against' rate stands at just under 2.5 per game.
In fact, only one team has shipped more after the first 13 rounds of any Serie A season this century - Benevento (33, in 2017) - and head coach Paolo Zanetti is under pressure to stem the tide.
With just one win on the road this term, the Scaligeri will head south knowing that defeat could see them slump into the drop zone by Sunday, as - like the sharp end of Italy's top tier - the bottom half of the table is very congested.
Team News
Blessed with a clean bill of health, Davide Nicola can choose freely from his squad on Friday, with perhaps his main selection dilemma coming between the posts.
Albania international Alen Sherri started against Genoa, but usual first-choice goalkeeper Simone Scuffet could return to face Verona.
Centre-forward Roberto Piccoli - on target last time out - will now meet another of his former loan clubs, having spent a few months at Stadio Bentegodi earlier in a nomadic career. Curiously, despite scoring 16 goals in Serie A to date, the Atalanta-owned striker has yet to provide a single assist.
By contrast with their injury-free hosts, the visitors will be missing Juan Cruz, midfield mainstay Ondrej Duda and Danish defender Martin Frese, though Diego Coppola may recover from the ankle sprain that kept him out of last week's loss to Inter.
Against more modest opposition than the Scudetto holders, Paolo Zanetti may switch back to a four-man defence, which would also result in either one of forward pair Casper Tengstedt or Daniel Mosquera dropping down to the bench.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Scuffet; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Augello; Marin, Adopo; Zortea, Gaetano, Luvumbo; Piccoli
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Tchatchoua, Dawidowicz, Magnani, Bradaric; Belahyane, Serdar; Suslov, Harroui, Lazovic; Tengstedt
We say: Cagliari 2-1 Hellas Verona
Cagliari have conceded the most goals from set-pieces in Serie A this season (10), while Hellas have leaked the most from open play (27) - in short, neither side is capable of keeping the back door shut.
On home turf and with momentum behind them from snatching two late draws, the hosts should claim maximum points and leapfrog Verona in the standings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
