Verona take on the visitors Pisa in the round 24 match of Italian Serie A. The match will be played on Friday, February 6th at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi (Verona).
Verona have been a major disappointment this season. The Mastiffs, despite once being national champions, have long stopped setting any goals more ambitious than simply collecting enough points to once again secure their place in Serie A. This has often been helped by relatively low competition at the bottom, as last spring they collected just 37 points, yet not only avoided relegation but even finished 16th — compare that with the circumstances of Leganes dropping to Segunda in the same period. However, this time the Mastiffs look far too weak. Over the entire campaign they have managed only two league wins, and those came back to back, while both before and after that run they rarely did better than a draw. The overall form trend is clearly negative, with long stretches without victories and little sign of recovery. Confidence also appears shaken, as defensive issues regularly resurface under pressure. Most recently, they lost outright to both Udinese and Cagliari, and not by narrow margins either — 1–3 and 0–4 respectively.
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Pisa had been showing ambition in Serie B for some time. Promotion, however, only came thanks to Filippo Inzaghi, who worked with the club last season and immediately proved effective at that level, securing promotion at the first attempt, before moving on to Palermo. His successor, Gilardino, failed to deliver anything surprising. In the first part of the new Serie A campaign, his team recorded just one win. Naturally, Pisa found themselves stuck in the relegation zone, yet they still managed to take points, mostly through draws, from roughly every second opponent. Their ability to slow down matches and cling to results made them an awkward rival earlier in the season. Even Atalanta were held to a 1–1 draw. Recently, however, such results have dried up. Losing 2–6 to Inter can be explained, but then they also suffered a clear 1–3 defeat against fellow newcomers Sassuolo.
All three previous meetings ended in draws — twice goalless, and once a 1–1 draw at this very stadium. The newcomers do not look completely hopeless. Still, the hosts are more experienced in survival battles and understand the value of this opportunity. The pick is Verona to win.
Prediction for the match: Verona to win.
