Hellas Verona vs Cagliari

Separated by two points in the battle for Serie A survival, Hellas Verona and Cagliari clash at Stadio Bentegodi on Monday evening.

Without a win this month, neither side is safe with just five games to go, so there will be plenty at stake.
After posting three straight draws - having won three of their previous seven matches - Verona built up a significant buffer to the drop zone before meeting Roma last week.

As ever, they left the capital empty-handed, following a 22nd defeat in 28 attempts to beat the Giallorossi at Stadio Olimpico, but their destiny remains within their own hands.

Paolo Zanetti's side may have gone four games without a win at a crucial stage of the season, yet they still have three relegation rivals to play - Cagliari, Lecce and Empoli - before the campaign concludes.

While Hellas have recently tightened up at the back, own goals aside they have scored only five times in the league this calendar year, with no player finding the net more than once.

So Zanetti will be keen to find the right balance as Verona aim to continue their long unbeaten streak at home to Cagliari: the Gialloblu have prevailed in nine of the clubs' last 14 meetings at Stadio Bentegodi, drawing all the others.

Of course, the visitors will seek to finally end that winless run, thereby doing a top-flight double over Verona for the first time since 1972.

Cagliari may have won November's reverse fixture 1-0, thanks to a late strike from top scorer Roberto Piccoli, but they currently trail Hellas by two points in the standings.

The Rossoblu's 17th league loss of the season came in Wednesday's postponed match against Fiorentina, as they were unable to hold on after Piccoli put them ahead in Sardinia.

Renowned survival specialist and seasoned coach Davide Nicola is attempting to create yet another escape from peril as the team fights for a third consecutive season in Serie A.

But after defeating bottom-place Monza in their opening away game of 2025, Cagliari has only managed three points from seven subsequent mainland travels, scoring only three goals. Before going to the Bentegodi, that is not encouraging.