Hellas Verona vs Napoli

Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi is the venue as Hellas Verona and Napoli go head-to-head in a high-stakes Serie A encounter for both managers.

After winning his first two Serie A games in charge of Hellas Verona, new manager Marco Baroni has gone winless in his last six (D2, L4), most recently overseeing a 2-1 defeat at newly-promoted Frosinone. Verona’s freefall has seen them tumble down the standings, with 18th-placed Empoli only four points below at the start of this round. Scoring has been an issue for ‘I Rossoblu,’ as they’ve only netted twice across their last six league outings after tallying three goals in the opening two rounds. Moreover, they’ve drawn a blank in back-to-back home matches in Serie A and could go three consecutive home league fixtures without scoring for the first time since April 2021. The good thing is they’ve scored 2+ goals in two of their last three top-flight H2Hs on home turf.

Despite last keeping a clean sheet at the Bentegodi in June 2020, Napoli ran out 5-2 victors in this corresponding fixture in 2022/23, making it two H2H away wins in a row. New boss Rudi Garcia has to extend that run to increase his chances in southern Italy following a stuttering start to Napoli’s Scudetto defense (W4, D2, L2). With seven points separating them from table-topping Milan after the first eight rounds, Garcia’s future in Naples is up in the air. After a 2-1 home loss to Fiorentina before the international break, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis tried to bring Antonio Conte, but to no avail. Playing on the road might boost Garcia’s prospects, with ‘I Partenopei’ alternating between winning (3) and drawing (2) across their five competitive travels this term.