HELLAS VERONA v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

A second consecutive away game awaits AC Milan. Having emerged victorious in Prague to book their place in the quarter-finals of a European competition for a second successive season, the Rossoneri’s attentions are now on the league again. The upcoming match against Verona at the Bentegodi will no doubt be a tricky one; the hosts are yet to lose at their ground in 2024 (W2, D2) and have the opportunity to go unbeaten in each of their opening five home fixtures in a single calendar year for the first time since 2013 (six wins in their first six games back then).

Furthermore, the Gialloblù are coming into the game on the back of two victories without conceding (1-0 against both Sassuolo and Lecce). They haven’t achieved three Serie A wins in a row since October 2013, and they haven’t managed to do so while keeping a clean sheet in each match since April 2000 (back then, they recorded four successive victories with a shutout under Prandelli). Meanwhile, the Rossoneri are currently enjoying a really good run. Indeed, AC Milan have lost just one of their last 13 league matches and have averaged two goals per game during this period. Pioli’s men have been in excellent goalscoring form on the road: they’ve bagged an average of 2.4 goals in their last five away matches in Serie A and, in general, have the second-best away attack in the league (29 goals).

DEFENCE, QUICK COUNTERS AND SHOTS FROM DSITANCE: VERONA’S CHARACTERISTICS
Hellas don’t tend to play the ball around much - from open play, they’ve only put together 91 moves consisting of 10+ passes, the lowest tally in the division - but they defend with plenty of aggression. Indeed, the Gialloblù are leading the way in terms of number of duels engaged in (an average of 104.9 per match), have made the second-most ball recoveries (55.6 per match, behind only Atalanta) and are third when it comes to defensive clearances (20.5 per game, behind only Udinese and Empoli). Once they gain possession, Marco Baroni’s side break quickly to try and catch their opponents off guard. Only Inter (nine) and Napoli (six) have scored more goals than Verona (four) from counter-attacks in Serie A this season.

Hellas also like to shoot from distance: five of their last eight top-flight goals have arrived from outside the box, including the last two. They were decisive, too, securing 1-0 victories over Sassuolo and Lecce. The Rossoneri’s backline thus needs to be attentive and not leave space for long-range shots, especially given what has happened so far this season: no side has conceded more goals than AC Milan from outside the area in 2023/24 - seven, level with Sassuolo, Frosinone, Udinese and Juventus.

A SOLID MIDFIELD, WITH SUSLOV AND FOLORUNSHO PROVIDING FLAIR
Verona’s most in-form player is undoubtedly Michael Folorunsho, who has contributed to three goals in his last three Serie A appearances, scoring twice - both finishes, against Juventus and Lecce, were from outside the box - and providing an assist. In general, three of the 26-year-old’s four goals this league campaign have been strikes from distance. Folorunsho has also stood out in terms of his break-up play: he’s won 168 duels this campaign, with no midfielder having done better in the Italian top flight in 2023/24.

Another key figure in Verona’s ranks is Tomáš Suslov. Together with Folorunsho (4G, 1A), he’s the Gialloblù player with the most goal contributions in Serie A this season (five). Notably, the 21-year-old is the Hellas man with the most assists this campaign: four, the last of which was for Folorunsho. Suslov is the youngest midfielder to have set up a teammate to score on more than three occasions this league season. All of his assists have arrived since December; in the same period, only Florian Wirtz (five) and Cole Palmer (six) have done better out of those who play in the same position as him in one of the top five European divisions and were born in the 2000s.

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