This may feel as a good opportunity for Inter to end a three-match winless run in the league, but the hosts cannot really afford to underestimate a team that currently sit above them in the standings. Having won their last three matches to climb to fourth place in the standings, Hellas Verona arrive at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza brimming with confidence.

Poor run of form

With the squad undergoing major changes in the summer and some key men missing, nobody really expected Inter would enjoy a bright start to the season under Walter Mazzarri. However, the new boss and his men largely impressed in the opening exchanges, winning four of first five fixtures and sharing spoils with reigning champions Juventus. The Nerazzurri have since suffered a small dip in form, drawing with Cagliari away and losing at home to Roma, but the Torino match suggested the team were slowly returning to the right track. Inter produced a very good performance to twice come from behind and make it 3-2 midway through the second half, but the late equalizer by Bellomo denied them what would have been a deserved victory. Nevertheless, even the draw can be considered a good result when we know that keeper Samir Handanovic had been sent off in the opening exchanges. With Inter attack in full working order, the hosts can be trusted to score a couple on Saturday evening, but their shaky defence cannot be trusted to stop free-scoring Verona, especially with Samir Handanovic now missing.

The highly rated keeper is banned, whereas Javier Zanetti, Cristian Chivu, McDonalo Mariga and Diego Milito are out injured and Hugo Campagnaro is doubtful.

Halfway there

Serie A survival was the first thing on the club chiefs minds when Hellas Verona finally returned to the elite division, but not even the most optimistic of them could predict that the team would have almost half of the points needed to avoid the drop after mere eight rounds. So impressive have the Gialloblu been in the opening exchanges that they now sit in fourth place in the league standings, with teams like Inter, Fiorentina, Milan and Lazio trailing in their wake. And it was Andrea Mandorlini’s brave approach that was the main reason behind some scintillating displays, with Verona playing attractive attacking football regardless of the opposition and venue. This has seen the Gialloblu notch no less than 16 goals already, and nobody will be worried that they also conceded 12 in that period. The team have been especially impressive of late, defeating Livorno, Bologna and Parma in their last three matches, so they will certainly fancy their chances of getting something from Giuseppe Meazza as well.

Midfielder Ezequiel Cirigliano is the only unavailable player at the moment, with Luca Toni set to lead the line once again.

Verdict

Goals should be the order of the day when two free-scoring sides face each other, with Inter’s and Verona’s last five matches producing 21 and 20 goals respectively. The hosts look they can put an end to Gialloblu’s impressive run of results, but there is no way they can keep a clean sheet in the process.

Top pick: Both teams to score   1.90 (9/10) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.73 (8/11) @ Paddy Power

Alternative pick 2: Home win + both teams to score   3.20 (11/5) @ William Hill