Verona vs. AS Roma Betting Preview – Serie A, September 19, 2020

The new season of the Italian Serie A kicks off Saturday, September 19, with a couple of games on the schedule including a marquee matchup between Hellas Verona and AS Roma.

These two foes met each other twice this past season, and AS Roma beat Verona on both occasions. The Yellow and Reds won 2-1 at home and 3-1 at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in Verona where they head this Saturday. 

I bring you the best Verona vs. AS Roma betting pick for their opening clash of the 2020/21 Serie A season along with the best betting tips, trends, and team news, so let’s take a look.

AS Roma enters the season as a +4000 underdog to win the title, as six teams have better chances than the Yellow and Reds. However, Hellas Verona is not among those top favorites to win the Serie A in 2021, and the hosts open the season as massive +150000 underdogs.

Also, Roma is a +300 dog to finish in the top four, while Verona is a +5000 underdog to qualify for the Champions League.

Hereof, the visitors opened as +105 favorites to win in the opening week, and I think that’s a fair offer.

Verona spent around $10 million on newcomers to strengthen their defense and midfield, but the most important thing for the Mastiffs is that they kept the vast majority of their key players from the previous season.

They sold a 20-year defender Marash Kumbulla to AS Roma, but the Mastiffs kept midfielders Mattia Zaccagni and Darko Lazovic who combined for 16 assists last season.

On the other side, Roma sold striker Patrik Schick to Bayer Leverkusen, while full-back Aleksandar Kolarov decided to join Inter. The Yellow and Reds bought playmaker Jordan Veretout and talented winger Carles Perez.

AS Roma finished the previous season in a strong fashion, winning seven of their last eight games along with a draw. They beat Juventus 3-1 on the road during that run, but it wasn’t enough for the Champions League qualification. AS Roma ended fifth and will play in the Europa League this season.

Verona, on the other side, finished at the ninth spot, 21 points behind Roma. They’ve won only one of their last eight games in the Serie A along with three losses and four ties.

On paper, AS Roma is a better team than Hellas Verona, but the visitors will have to prove it on the field. Interestingly, Roma is undefeated in 17 straight encounters with Verona, recording 12 wins and five draws in that span.

However, Verona have scored at least a goal in five of their last seven encounters with Roma including both head-to-head duels from the previous season. Furthermore, Roma couldn’t keep their net intact in six straight outings in the Serie A, so I expect to see both teams finding the net Saturday in their first showing of the season.

Verona won its last home game 3-0 after seven straight home contests where they failed to record the clean sheet.