Basement club Crotone will be looking for just their sixth Serie A win of the season when they host Hellas Verona on Thursday evening.
The hosts have already been relegated from the top flight, while the visitors can only end the campaign as high as ninth, where they finished last season.
Match preview
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Crotone became the first team from Europe's top five leagues to concede more than 90 goals this season – one short of the Serie A record in a single campaign – when they were thrashed 5-0 away at Roma last weekend.
Braces from Borja Mayoral and Lorenzo Pellegrini, as well as a strike from Henrik Mkhitaryan, helped the hosts cruise to victory as they inflicted the 27th league defeat on the Pythagoreans this term.
Crotone are now one of only two sides in Serie A history to have lost 27 of their first 35 league games in a single season, after Benevento in 2017-18.
Serse Cosmi's side, who have been at the foot of the table since January 3, have nothing left to play for but would move above Parma into 19th place with a win on Thursday.
Four of Crotone's five top-flight wins this season have been on home soil, but all have been against teams currently placed 15th or lower in the table.
The Pythagoreans are sure to rely on top scorer Simy if they are to have any chance of claiming three points in midweek.
The Nigerian forward has found the net 19 times this campaign and could become the second African player after Samuel Eto'o to score 20 or more goals in a single Serie A season.
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Verona extended their winless league run to six matches when they drew 1-1 at home to relegation-threatened Torino last weekend.
The visitors thought they had won the match in the 85th minute when Mergim Vojvoda headed in his second goal in successive games, however a left-footed strike from outside the penalty area by substitute Federico Dimarco rescued a point for the hosts.
Verona remain just inside the top half of the table, three points clear of Udinese in 11th place as they head into the final three games of the season.
Head coach Ivan Juric will be returning to his old stomping ground on Thursday, as the 45-year-old has previously played for and managed Crotone.
Juric made close to 150 appearances for them as a player between 2001 and 2006, before taking charge of the club and guiding them to promotion from Serie B in 2015-16.
Verona came out on top against the Pythagoreans in January – winning 2-1 on home soil – and another victory in midweek could move them above Sampdoria into ninth place.
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Team News
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Crotone forward Samuel Di Carmine is ruled out with a muscle injury, while wing-back Arkadiusz Reca should be fit enough to start after recovering from a calf problem.
Despite losing 5-0 away at Roma last weekend, Cosmi may decide to name the same starting lineup again on Thursday.
Top scorer Simy is expected to lead the line alongside Adam Ounas, while Ahmad Benali, Luca Cigarini and Junior Messias are likely to provide support from midfield.
As for Hellas Verona, midfielder Adrien Tameze is back from suspension and could return to the starting lineup at the expense of Ivan Ilic.
Ronaldo Vieira remains out with a thigh problem, while club captain Miguel Veloso has had surgery on a neck injury and remains sidelined.
Young goalkeeper Ivor Pandur started his first Serie A game last weekend ahead of Marco Silvestri, who was dropped to the bench, and he may be given the number one jersey again on Thursday.
Striker Nikola Kalinic – who scored his most recent Serie A goal against Crotone in the reverse fixture – could start up front ahead of Kevin Lasagna, and Eddie Salcedo is likely to join him in attack.
Crotone possible starting lineup:
Cordaz; Djidji, Golemic, Magallan; Molina, Benali, Cigarini, Messias, Reca; Ounas, Simy
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Dawidowicz, Magnani, Dimarco; Faraoni, Tameze, Sturaro, Lazovic; Zaccagni; Salcedo, Kalinic
We say: Crotone 1-1 Hellas Verona
Both Crotone and Hellas Verona have claimed four points in the three Serie A games played against each other, winning, drawing and losing one match each.
The two teams are currently enduring a poor run of form and, with little to separate them, a score draw could be on the cards at the Stadio Ezio Scida.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hellas Verona win with a probability of 45.67%. A win for Crotone had a probability of 29.78% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hellas Verona win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.22%) and 0-2 (7.41%). The likeliest Crotone win was 2-1 (7.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.53%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood.
