Football takes precedence over rivalry on Saturday evening as Hellas Verona meet Chievo in the Derby Della Scalla in search of their first victory of the campaign.
Fireworks are nominally present when these two sides clash, as attested by their high-octane clash last May, but Andrea Mandorlini will have instilled the importance of getting off the mark for the season into his group of players and there is perhaps no better fixture to record a first three points than against a Chievo side brimming with confidence.
Form
Such is the contrasting fortunes of these two sides that Saturday evening's affair will take on added signifance for Andrea Mandorlini's outfit, the historically more distinguished of the Verona clubs. The "visitors" find themselves languishing in the relegation zone -- their results worsened only by newly promoted minnows Carpi and Bologna -- and have yet to record a solitary victory this campaign.
Their fortunes have scarcely been aided by the absence of last season's joint-Capocannoniere winner, Luca Toni, though Mandorlini, certainly on last weekend's showing against Lazio, will harbour hopes that their dismal span of results will come to halt against their fiercest rivals.
Verona took the lead against Stefano Pioli's side last week only for a series of inexplicable defensive errors to tarnish a positive display. Granted, it was Lazio who seized the initiative after the restart, yet a creditable result was within the realms of probability were it not for Yacopo Sala's reckless lunge on Balde Keita inside the penalty area. Lucas Biglia dispatched the subsequent spot-kick and, even after the visitors were reduced to ten men after Mauricio was given his marching orders, the Gialloblu still contrived to lose 2-1 courtesy of a late Marco Parolo piledriver.
Chievo, contrastingly, were held to a 1-1 draw with high-flying Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium. The result brought Maran's side to the precipe of Fiorentina at the summit of the table while three points on Saturday could propel Verona's "little brother" into the Champions League places.
Previous meetings
Chievo got the upper hand when the sides met in December last season, with Alberto Paloschi, who is expected to lead the line on Saturday evening, netting the decisive strike nine minutes from time.
It was, however, a high-octane encounter when the sides clashed in the return fixture last May. Juanito Gomez and Luca Toni cancelled out an early Paloschi opener, but Sergio Pellissier netted from 12 yards to salvage a point for Maran's men.
The two sides have clashed on only six seperate ocassions in the top flight, with Chievo holding the superior head-to-head record (3-2). There is an entrenched hatred between the two sets of supporters and, with Verona languishing in the lower reaches of the table while their neighbours are mixing it alongside the established European contenders, expect a frantic affair from the word go.
Team news
There is no fresh injury news for the Flying Donkeys after last weekend's stalemate, though Rolando Maran will still be shorn of summer arrival Paul-Jose M'Poku and veteran defender Dario Dainelli.
Verona, however, continue to be blighted by absentees as both Luca Toni and Giampaolo Pazzini remain sidelined, while defender Rafael Marquez and midfielder Romulo will also miss out.
Probable line-ups
Chievo (4-3-1-2): Bizzarri; Frey, Gamberini, Cesar, Gobbi; Castro, Rigoni, Hetemaj; Birsa, Paloschi, Meggiorini.
Verona (4-3-3): Rafael; Pisano, Moras, Bianchetti, Souprayen; Sala, Viviani, Halfredsson; Gomez, Greco, Jankovic.
Ones to Watch
Chievo - Alberto Paloschi
Chievo's talisman has developed a penchant for scoring against his side's bitter rivals and will arrive into Saturday's fixture bristling with confidence. However, despite netting thrice in Chievo's opening two fixtures, the Italian has hit a slight barren spell infront of goal and will be looking to rekindle his goalscoring prowess against a leaky Verona outfit. Having been unjustly omitted from Antonio Conte's Italy squad in September, a decisive display on Saturday evening may propel his name into the ex-Juventus coach's consciousness.
Verona - Federico Viviani
The former Roma midfielder has been a rare bright spark in an otherwise dismal start to the campaign for Mandorlini. Deployed alongside the oft-reliable Emil Halfredsson in midfield, he has laid on two assists so far this campaign and his ingenuity will be instrumental against an impermeable Chievo rearguard. Having netted eight times for Latina in Serie B last term, Viviani may be tasked with providing the all-important strikes with Toni sidelined until December.