Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Serie A clash between Como and Hellas Verona, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Unbeaten in Serie A since late August, Como host struggling Hellas Verona in Wednesday’s gameweek nine fixture, aiming to improve their position after the midweek round.
However, Cesc Fabregas‘s team will hope to find the necessary game-winning quality at Giuseppe Sinigaglia to turn recent draws into wins against the division’s draw kings, who are fresh off another tie at the weekend.
Match preview
Having finished last season in mid-table, Como have made a commendable start to their second year two in the big time, but it could have been better.
While not intended to downplay Fabregas’s team sitting sixth in the table after eight rounds, the Lariani drawing four games as they approach the next round suggests they could be higher up.
Sharp-eyed observers with a fondness for Como might point out that two of the Biancoblu’s draws have been against seventh-placed Atalanta BC and promoted Cremonese, who were in the top half before the previous round’s results.
The team’s latest draw with Parma was Como’s third in their last four league matches, meaning they missed the chance to move into the top four after Inter Milan in fourth and Bologna in fifth lost to Napoli and drew with Fiorentina, respectively.
Considering Verona’s tendency to draw matches — their five ties are surpassed only by Atalanta’s six — Fabregas’s men will hope to avoid another stalemate on Wednesday.
Results at the Sinigaglia do little to support the Lariani’s bid for maximum points, especially since half of their four home games have ended in draws and two in victories.
Verona’s supporters enter Wednesday’s match aware of a winless run in this fixture dating back to 2004, with the Mastini falling to two defeats and playing out a pair of draws since.
Both meetings last season ended with the Mastini drawing in Veneto and losing the corresponding fixture 3-2, and either result this week would not be surprising.
Paolo Zanetti‘s men travel to the club from the Lombardy region with mixed feelings after their 2-2 draw with Cagliari at the weekend.
The Gialloblu doubled their tally from open play with goals from Roberto Gagliardini and Gift Orban, putting them 2-0 ahead, only for defensive frailties to rear their ugly head as the Sardinians scored twice in the final 15 minutes, the latter of which was netted in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
As a result, Verona remain winless after eight games, playing out five draws, but they are the team with the second-worst attack (four goals) this season, striving to find a way past Como, who not only have not lost a home match this season, but have also kept clean sheets in two of their three games at the Sinigaglia.
Having failed to win a top-flight match since May’s 2-1 victory at Empoli, Verona must beat an opponent they have not managed to beat in nearly two decades to avoid slipping into the bottom three, with Fiorentina, Pisa and Genoa one, one and two points behind the Veneto outfit ahead of the midweek round.
Como Serie A form:
Como form (all competitions):
Hellas Verona Serie A form:
Hellas Verona form (all competitions):
Team News
Jesus Rodriguez returns to the Como squad on Wednesday after serving a suspension for his sending-off due to violent conduct against Cremonese in gameweek five.
Alvaro Morata was withdrawn with an apparent injury against Parma at the weekend, suggesting the striker will join Sergi Roberto and Alberto Dossena on the treatment table.
Only Bologna’s Riccardo Orsolini (five goals) has scored more league goals than Nico Paz this season, and the Como star aims to be decisive by adding to his four goals or four assists.
By scoring against Cagliari, Orban is the only Verona player to score more than once so far, and the forward, who has scored two of the Mastiffs’ four goals, strives to increase his tally.
Giovane set up both goals in the 2-2 draw with the Sardinians, bringing him to three assists for the season to emphasise his creative threat heading into Wednesday’s fixture.
Unai Nunez and Rafik Belghali could not complete the recent draw, indicating that both players have joined Tomas Suslov, Daniel Oyegoke, Mutassim Al-Musrati and Grigoris Kastanos on the injury list.
Como possible starting lineup:
Butez; Smolcic, Ramon, Kempf, Moreno; Perrone, Da Cunha; Kuhn, Paz, Dioa; Douvikas
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Bella-Kotchap, Nelson, Valentina; Cham, Serdar, Gagliardini, Bernede, Frese; Giovane, Orban
We say: Como 2-0 Hellas Verona
While Como typically score goals at the Sinigaglia, they have not netted more than two this season, and that pattern is likely to continue on Wednesday.
That should be enough to beat Verona, who have not scored in three consecutive away games since a 1-1 draw against Udinese, and they could once again fail to score in Lombardy.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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