Inter Milan vs Hellas Verona

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza sets the stage for a lopsided Serie A encounter between Inter Milan and Hellas Verona.

Inter Milan experienced a torrid end to 2023. In addition to bowing out of the Coppa Italia last-16 at the hands of Bologna, Simone Inzaghi’s side could only share the spoils with promoted Genoa in a 1-1 draw in their last league outing of 2023. Despite those slip-ups, ‘I Nerazzurri’ headed into 2024 as Serie A pacesetters. But with only two points separating them from second-placed Juventus, they can’t afford to take this contest lightly. They’d be forgiven for expecting a walk in the park here, knowing they have never lost a home H2H (W22, D11), winning the last six in a row by a combined score of 10-1. On top of that, since a 2-2 draw against Bologna in early October, they’ve won four consecutive home league outings by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’

On the other hand, visiting Hellas Verona couldn’t wait for 2023 to end after a dismal 1-0 home loss to rock-bottom Salernitana sucked them back into a dreaded relegation scrap. Level on points with 18th-placed Cagliari, the visitors look doomed ahead of the kick-off, especially considering they failed to attempt a shot on target in that loss against Salernitana, an unwanted feat they last experienced in September 2021. Playing on the road won’t help Marco Baroni’s bid to avoid dismissal, with ‘I Gialloblu’ picking up just two points on their last seven Serie A travels (D2, L5). On top of that, Baroni has lost all four previous managerial fixtures against Inter, casting further doubt on the visiting side’s faint hope of staging an upset.