Italian Serie A
2024-01-13 - Hellas Verona vs Empoli
A Sports Betting Pick by Cafa
Italy Serie A - Round 20
Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy
Saturday, 13th January 2024, 18:00 CET
Verona
This is a duel between 18th and 19th on the table, and we know these traditionally end well for the hosts, and are usually tight battles. This is what we think will happen in this game as well, as Verona is a slightly better side, while Empoli only managed to perform on two occasions that were exactly the same games. Not at all like this one.
Back to Verona. When you watch them play, you'll see a decent team that looks good on the pitch, but that just can't find that edge to actually score a goal. This eventually hurts them as the opponent opens up once it sees Verona is harmless.
Empoli
Like we said, Empoli did well only two times this season, when they were happy to fall back and defend deep when visiting Fiorentina and Napoli, and when they were able to exploit the hosts on the break when they started losing patience.
In other games, Empoli is inferior and will remain inferior until the end of the season. They haven't scored for four rounds now, which means they're back to their ways from early season when they were scoreless for the first five rounds before being fortunate enough to play against Salernitana at home.
At one point, Empoli started playing more direct football, which allowed them to score, but this is now gone. Also, the coach seems to want only players who play defence, which means the most dangerous player Cancellieri, the dribbler winger, finds himself on the bench.
Probable Lineups
Verona (4-2-3-1): Montipo - Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Dawidowicz, Doig - Folorunsho, Duda - Ngonge, Suslov, Mboula - Djuric. Coach Baroni.
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Caprile - Bereszynski, Walukiewicz, Luperto, Cacace - Zurkowski, Grassi, Maleh - Baldanzi - Cambiaghi, Caputo. Coach Andreazzoli.
Verona lost left back Terracciano to AC Milan in the January transfer window. Ngonge, a Fiorentina target, is still here. For Empoli, new signing Zurkowski goes straight in the starting lineup. Best dribbler Cancellieri remains unexplicably on the bench.
The Betting Verdict
Both of these teams know how hard it is for them to find the net, and will look to keep this game watertight first and foremost, and only then to try to score that one goal for the win. And that's without taking into account the awful offenses of both sides. Only one bet makes sense here - Under 2.5 Goals.
Even if the game opens up and ends with a lot of goals somehow, there is no reason to bet on goals in this game, Unders is the only bet worth taking. And it's a good one, too, it could be part of your weekend accumulator.
Last four meetings, all in Serie A, ended with less than 3 goals. Three ended with 1-1 and the last one, in Empoli, was won 0-1 by Verona in the first round of this season.
When it comes to final result, we believe Verona is closer to taking the points. This is a side that plays well and is only let down by its lack of scoring proficiency.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Verona 1-0 Empoli
