Inter and Hellas Verona go head-to-head at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in an exciting Serie A showdown on Sunday. A 2-1 victory at Marc’Antonio Bentegodi in the reverse fixture saw the Nerazzurri extend their unbeaten league run against this opposition to 19 straight games (W15, D4).
Verona’s last Serie A success against Inter dates back to February 1992, with the Gialloblu conceding two or more goals in each of their last six league encounters. Moreover, Veneto minnows have never picked up a top-flight win at the Giuseppe Meazza, having ended up on the losing side in 18 of their previous 29 Serie A visits to this venue (D11).
Stuck in mid-table on the back of three consecutive defeats, the visitors seem highly unlikely to end their hoodoo in Lombardy now. Each game during that three-game sequence saw under 1.5 first-half goals and featured a strike beyond the 70th minute. Overall this season, 56.25% of Verona’s away Serie A fixtures have seen a goal scored inside the final 15 minutes of play.
On the bright side, Ivan Juric’s men have racked up five league victories on the road this term and could equal the club’s all-time record of six away triumphs in a single Serie A campaign.
Verona’s hopes of winning will hinge on whether they can prevent Inter from scoring the opener, with the Mastiffs losing all five away top-flight games in which they conceded first this season.
Coming off the back of identical 1-1 draws with Napoli and Spezia, the hosts are desperate to return to winning ways in Serie A. Despite a recent drop-off, they hold a massive ten-point lead on second-placed AC Milan and are confident of lifting their first league crown since 2009/10.
Delivering action from the get-go, Antonio Conte’s men have netted the opening goal in the third-highest 67% of their home league outings so far (10/15).
Even if they concede the opener, the Nerazzurri should have enough character to dig themselves out, having lost just one of five home Serie A matches after falling behind this term (W3, D1, L1).
Too hot to handle on home turf, the runaway Serie A leaders have won each of their last 12 league encounters at the Giuseppe Meazza and are only a single success short of equalling the club’s longest winning run at home.
Inter’s home action usually sparks into life after half-time, as witnessed by the fact 69.23% of their Serie A goals scored at home this season have arrived in the second half of play (27/39).