Hellas Verona vs Juventus Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battle, Prediction & More

Juventus will be irked by being in the unfamiliar position of second in the Serie A table, and will hope that victory over Hellas Verona will be enough to put them in pole position for the title once again.

A narrow victory over tricky customers Roma could be a springboard for Massimiliano Allegri's men as they look to overtake high-flying Napoli - who currently sit a point ahead - in the second half of the season.

However, they shouldn't expect a simple game against a Verona side battling to stave off relegation, especially considering I Gialloblu came out 2-1 victors in this fixture in May 2016.

Classic Encounter

An already relegated Verona side spoiled a 26 game unbeaten run for defending champions Juventus, with a hard fought 2-1 victory at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi back in 2016.

The world was shocked as the seemingly unbeatable Old Lady - 14 points clear of second placed Roma - fell to a side with no league aspirations, having already fallen too far behind to avoid relegation.

Verona fans were ecstatic as they saw club legend Luca Toni score from the spot, in what transpired to be the penultimate game of his career for I Mastini. Happiness turned to jubilation in the second half though, as Lonita doubled the home advantage and set Verona on course for a historic win and a rare celebration.

Paulo Dybala made the ending slightly nervy as he emphatically converted a penalty in stoppage time, but ultimately it was too little too late for the Turin giants.

Key Battle

Paulo Dybala vs Martin Caceres

Dybala is returning to the form that saw him become one of the world's highest praised starlets, after a barren run that saw the Argentine international fail to score since November. Despite the dip in form, the former Palermo forward is Juve's highest goal-scorer this campaign with 12.

If Verona are looking to take anything from Saturday's match-up, they will need to be resolute defensively first and foremost, and ex-Juve man Martin Caceres will play a vital part in that.

Dybala models his game on carrying the ball and exploiting the spaces on both flanks to craft attacking opportunities for his teammates. Caceres is known for his physical attributes and isn't afraid to step out into wide areas and defend on the front-foot, which means he'll likely be tasked with hindering Dybala on the day.

Team News

Giuseppe Bellini/GettyImages

Juventus have one notable absentee on the day, in German central defender Benedikt Howedes after injuring a muscle fibre in November.

Matteo Bianchetti is missing for Verona with an unknown injury while Mattia Zaccagni will be absent from the midfield with inflamed knee ligaments.

Potential Verona Lineup:Nicholas, Ferrari, Heurtaux, Caracciolo, Caceres, Romulo, Zuculini, Buchel, Verde, Valoti, Cerci

Potential Juventus Lineup: Szczesny, Barzagli, Benatia, Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi, Cuadrado, Higuain, Mandzukic

Prediction

In terms of head-to-head statistics, Juventus have won 12 matches to Verona's two,  while the remaining three clashes have been draws.

The Old Lady haven't conceded a goal in eight games in all competitions and has a plethora of attacking talent to beat anyone their day - as shown last year against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

Allegri's side will simply have too much firepower on the day for Verona to come away with anything on current form.

Verona 0-3 Juventus