Hellas Verona head into the high-profile clash having squandered a three-goal lead against Cesena, but the Rossoblu can, nonetheless, take heart from several very good performances in a row. Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri have suffered a new low as they failed to beat rock-bottom Parma at home, and it remains to be seen whether they can avoid another embarrassment.

Performances better than results

Some impressive displays last season showed that Hellas Verona were getting ready for a lengthy stay in Italy’s elite division and the team continued with strong performances in the new campaign. Andrea Mandorlini’s task was made harder by the departure of several important players, but his current crop of players led by evergreen Luca Toni proved they can be counted on as well. Verona were probably a bit unfortunate not to climb to the top half of the standings as they were quite unlucky in some games, but with Serie A survival all but secured with nine games to go, there is no reason for concern. The Gialloblu have been producing excellent displays of late, holding AC Milan and AS Roma to draws and defeating Napoli and Cagliari, while only losing to red-hot Lazio. The team were on the road to record another impressive win as they had a three-goal lead against Cesena, but they eventually had to settle for one point after conceding three late goals. And while their back line clearly suffers from lapses in concentration, Verona usually create quite a few clear-cut chances regardless of the opposition and I can definitely see the attacking trio of Jankovic, Toni and Gomez causing plenty of problems for Inter Milan defenders.

Midfielder Artur Ionita is nearing the return from injury, while Nico Lopez is back in contention and Rafa Marquez and Panagiotis Tachtsidis return to the starting line-up.

From bad to worse

Inter Milan have endured some tough times ever since they won the last of 18 Serie A titles in 2010, but this has probably been their most disappointing campaign in recent years. The Nerazzurri crashed out of both Coppa Italia and Europa League before reaching the final stages, while their league campaign has been the one to forget. Oddly enough, the arrival of Roberto Mancini and several high-profile footballers did not bring the desired improvement, with Mauro Icardi and Gary Medel probably the only players in the side that have lived up to the billing this term. Inter are currently going through a very difficult period, with the team winless in last seven matches, and no doubt the players will be low on confidence after failing to defeat struggling Parma at home last time out. The Nerazzurri do have plenty of attacking potential at their disposal that should shine against one of league’s worst defences, but I am afraid they might get outscored by the in-form Verona on Saturday. Inter did show some improvement on the road of late, albeit losing to Sampdoria three weeks ago.

Mauro Icardi and Nemanja Vidic are back from suspension, but Jonathan, Dodo and Zdravko Kuzmanovic are out injured.

Verdict

Hellas Verona are in much better form than the opposition and their players are high on confidence at the moment, and the only thing that can stop them from winning is the poor back line. Meanwhile, Inter Milan are very low on spirits and far from the desired form, so I am not sure they can end a seven-match winless run at Bentegodi.

Top pick: Over 2.5 goals   1.91 (10/11) @ William Hill

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   1.67 (2/3) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Verona Draw no bet   2.50 (3/2) @ BetVictor