Our prediction for this Serie A match:
Stadio Luigi Ferraris will host Saturday’s football game between Sampdoria and Hellas Verona. La Samp aim to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to Napoli, and a win over Verona will see them retain their spot in the top half of the table. Both Torregrossa and Ekdal are sidelined with injuries, but there are no suspended players in the home team. The good news for the hosts is that Portuguese midfielder Adrien Silva returns from suspension.
The Mastini, on the other hand, do not seem to be at the top of their game, with the team losing four of their last five league fixtures. Anyhow, share of spoils is on the cards as the two teams seem to be evenly matched at the moment. All Cetin, Favilli, and Vieira are out of contention through injuries, while Gunter is a major doubt, and he will be assessed ahead of the kick-off.
Highlighted Player (Antonio Candreva):
Antonio Candreva is an Italian football player born on 28th of February 1987 in Rome. Candreva played in the youth academy of Udinese where he made his debut in season 2007/2008.
After playing for Livorno, Juventus, Parma, Cesena he transferred to Lazio Roma, which didn’t pay any transfer fee. Cendreva plays for the Italian national team as well where he made his debut in November 2009. Candreva didn’t play for the Italian team during the EURO 2012 but did during the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
Candreva is a 181cm right-footed midfielder that is known for being multifunctional in the pitch. Because Candreva played for lots of clubs he is known for being very mature and having a great vision in the game. Candreva scored the most amount of goals in his career in the season 2013/2014. The only prize Candreva won was the Coppa Italia in 2012/2013 with Lazio Roma. Candreva’s nickname is Il Timido.
Highlighted Team (Verona):
Founded back in 1903, Hellas Verona are a professional football club that compete in the Italian Serie A. The “Mastini” are well known for their yellow and blue jerseys and they welcome their opponents at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi. Hellas Verona share rivalry with Chievo Verona and the two local rivals face each other in the “Derby della Scala”.
The first derby of Verona was played on November 18, 2001, with Hellas Verona emerging triumphant (3-2). In 1985 the Mastini won their first and only Scudetto, with the team finishing the season in top position in the Serie A standings, four points clear of second-placed Torino. The likes of Preben Elkjaer, Giuseppe Calderisi, Hans-Peter Briegel, Pietro Fanna and Antonio Di Gennaro led Hellas Verona to the historical success.
However, the most famous footballer who played for Verona is Romania international Adrian Mutu, who scored 16 goals in 57 appearances in the league for the Stadio Marc’ Antonio Bentegodi outfit. Verona will compete in the Italian top flight in the 2017/2018 season as they finished the 2016/2017 Serie B campaign in second position in the table.