Serie A | Gameweek 16

Dec 15, 2024 at 2pm UK

Stadio Ennio Tardini

Parmavs.Hellas Verona

Match preview

Fabio Pecchia will be pleased that his Parma team have got through a tricky run of games without any major setbacks. Winning three points in their last three matches is a great result.

While the Serie B champions may have lost 3-1 to Atalanta and Inter Milan, they also beat Lazio by the same scoreline, which remains Lazio's only defeat across their last 12 games.

After winning just one of their first 11 Serie A games of the season, they've now won two of the last four. They had a win over Venezia just before their recent run of tough outings.

Those wins have moved them up five places in the league table, and they now face the team currently in the bottom three.

If they win here, Parma will have the same number of points they had at this stage of the 2020-21 season, when they were in the bottom three and finished with 17 points to play with.

It'd be good to end a run of 13 straight top-flight home games without a clean sheet, as Parma have one of the leakiest defences in the division.

Verona have it worse than Parma when it comes to defence. They've conceded 37 goals in 15 games, which is nine more than any other team in Serie A.

Zanetti is under a lot of pressure with 11 defeats already this season. Many thought he might have been sacked after the embarrassing 4-1 loss at home to Empoli last weekend, which extended their losing streak to four matches and saw them concede 13 goals in that time.

All nine goals were scored in the first half of the three games, which puts Verona out of the game before they can even compete.

Verona are even worse away from home, having lost six games in a row. This is their worst run of results in almost seven years.

This shows why Zanetti is under so much pressure. He'll be hoping his players can play as well as Verona sides have done in the past in this game. They've won six of their last nine league games against Parma.

Recent Performance

Parma Serie A form:DLWLWL

Hellas Verona Serie A form:LWLLLL

Team News

Parma saw defender Botond Balogh forced off inside 10 minutes against Inter last week, so Yordan Osorio's potential return could be well timed, but he hasn't played at club level since September, which leaves Pecchia with a problem in defence.

Adrian Benedyczak was out with illness last week but could be back soon. His namesake Adrian Bernabe is not expected to return until the new year due to a hamstring injury.

With Gabriel Charpentier and Mateusz Kowalski out with long-term injuries, Anas Haj Mohamed might get another chance to start up front after impressing in the win over Lazio. But he might end up on the bench with Pecchia taking a more cautious approach at Inter.

Verona will be able to welcome Diego Coppola back after a one-match ban due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so he could reclaim his place in defence this weekend.

Verona's Pawel Dawidowicz has been their first-choice centre-back for many years. However, he was substituted at half-time in the 5-0 home defeat to Inter, then dropped for the match against Cagliari, and conceded four first-half goals against Empoli last weekend on his return. With the team struggling, the Polish international may lose his place again.

Martin Frese is still out with an injury, but we should see veteran midfielder Ondrej Duda back on the pitch in February.

Possible starting lineup

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Coulibaly, Del Prato, Leoni, Valeri; Sohm, Keita; Man, Haj Mohamed, Cancellieri; Mihaila

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Tchatchoua, Magnani, Coppola, Bradaric; Serdar, Belahyane, Harroui; Suslov, Tengstedt, Lazovic