Juventus are looking to close the gap on leaders Inter Milan as they travel to the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi for a Serie A clash against Hellas Verona. The Turin club are in danger of losing their title and need a win to continue their pursuit of the leaders.
This has been something of a transitional season for Juventus with a rookie manager at the helm of affairs in Turin. Andrea Pirlo's tenure at the Allianz Stadium has been filled with inconsistency with the Italian legend attempting to make changes at the club.
Among the changes Pirlo is trying to bring to the club is a reduction in the average age of the team. Youngsters like Dejan Kulusevski, Weston McKennie, Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Fabrotta have all played prominent roles this season.
The champions have not had it all their own way this season with the team losing their dominance in Serie A. They are currently third on the table, eight points behind Inter Milan albeit with a game in hand.
Things appear to be looking up for the Old Lady, however, having claimed four wins from their last five Serie A matches. They head into Saturday’s match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Crotone with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace.
Hellas Verona were held to a 2-2 draw at Genoa in their previous Serie A outing. They appeared to be heading for a win thanks to efforts from Ivan Ilic and Davide Faraoni but conceded a 90th minute equaliser.
Ivan Juric's men are on course for a comfortable top half finish as they sit ninth, eight points above the teams in the bottom half of the table. They have not been at their best in recent weeks with just one win in their last four matches.
However, they have developed a habit of getting things done at home having won their last three matches at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.
How the bookies view it
As expected the bookies have installed Juventus as favourites with Vbet backing the Turin club to secure the win at 5/9. Despite their recent good form at home, Verona are outsiders at 28/5 with SBK while betway values a draw at 100/30.
Juventus need a win to keep alive their title hopes and I am tempted to back the Old Lady to come out on top on Saturday.
Head to head
Juventus have a superior advantage in the head to head against Hellas Verona having claimed 15 wins from 22 previous matches. Verona have just three wins while there have been four stalemates, including a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Stadium.
Players to watch
As always Juventus will look to top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the spark in attack following his brace last time out. He is priced at 8/13 to score anytime by bet365, who are also backing the Portugal forward to grab the first goal at 9/4.
Much of Verona's goals often come from midfield with Antonin Barak the team’s top scorer having found the net five times. The Czech midfielder is priced at a massive 18/1 by bet365 to score anytime.
Anything else catch the eye?
With bookies offering a minimal 5/9 for a Juventus win, a handicap bet could provide some value here. Boyle Sport is backing the Turin Club at 6/4 for a -1 handicap on Saturday.
Juventus are always a good bet for a clean sheet having conceded just once in their last five matches. They are backed at 11/8 by Sporting Index to keep another clean sheet while a win to nil is valued at 32/21 by Vbet.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring exploits in Serie A also provides multiple options in the goalscorer market. He could be worth a punt at bet365’s 9/4 to score the first goal while an output of two or more goals for the Portugal star is priced at 5/2 by the same firm.
This Serie A match between Hellas Verona and Juventus will be played on Feb 27, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Hellas Verona vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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