Serie A | Gameweek 28

Mar 9, 2025 at 11.30am UK

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi

Hellas Verona vs Bologna

Match preview

A week after scoring an injury-time winner to see off European contenders Fiorentina, Verona were brought back down to earth by Juventus when the two sides met on Monday night.

Hellas coach Paolo Zanetti, serving a touchline ban, could only watch in frustration from the stands as his side conceded twice in the final 20 minutes to fall to defeat in Turin.

Another failure up front means that the Gialloblu have scored just three times in their last nine Serie A games, with just two victories to show for it, but they remain four points clear of the relegation zone.

Zanetti's men will now be looking to win back-to-back home games for the first time in the league this season, and Verona's recent record against their next visitors suggests that could be achievable.

Unbeaten in five meetings at the Bentegodi dating back to 2017, they will be looking to build on their dramatic 3-2 away win in December and complete the double over Bologna for the first time in Serie A.

Unlike their hosts, Bologna are enjoying the transition to spring, having recently ended a long winless run against AC Milan and then staged a spirited comeback to beat Cagliari.

Trailing to the Sardinians at half-time, they bounced back with a brace from Riccardo Orsolini before the hour mark and held on for victory - their fourth in six league games.

The Rossoblu, under Vincenzo Italiano, have shown great resilience this term, picking up more points from defeat than any other Serie A side - 16, which is as many as they managed in the whole of last season.

Italiano - a former Verona player - has built on the foundations laid by Thiago Motta and some smooth operations off the field to keep Bologna among the big boys of calcio, and they are once again in the mix for European qualification.

His side have scored 42 goals so far - the club's best tally at this stage since 1997 - and will be looking to add to that tally against one of the most porous defences in the top flight.

However, Bologna have won just one of their last seven away games in Serie A - and none since December - while failing to score in their last two. So nothing can be taken for granted.

Recent Performance

Hellas Verona Serie A form:DWLLWL

Bologna Serie A form:WDWLWW

Bologna form (all competitions):WDWLWW

Team News

Verona's top scorer Casper Tengstedt, who returned from a month-long lay-off to take a place on the bench last time out, could be in contention to start on Sunday.

Dailon Livramento is likely to make way for the Benfica striker as the hosts look to bolster their lacklustre attack.

Fellow striker Tomas Suslov has certainly tried, having been involved in more efforts without scoring than any other Serie A player (53 - 29 shots and 24 chances). He also had a goal disallowed for offside by the VAR on Monday.

Once again, Hellas will be without Suat Serdar, Martin Frese, Daniel Mosquera and Abdou Harroui through injury, while Bologna will only be without Emil Holm and Remo Freuler.

The latter is serving a suspension for accumulating bookings, so either Lewis Ferguson or Nikola Moro should start in central midfield.

In attack, Santiago Castro will be looking to make amends for his own goal in the reverse fixture in December, while Riccardo Orsolini needs just one more goal to reach double figures in Serie A for a third season.

Possible starting lineup

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Dawidowicz, Coppola, Valentini; Faraoni, Niasse, Duda, Tchatchoua; Suslov; Tengstedt, Sarr

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; De Silvestri, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Moro, Pobega; Orsolini, Odgaard, Ndoye; Castro