Cremonese vs Verona Preview - A life-or-death battle at Stadio Giovanni Zini

The match between Cremonese and Verona, taking place at 00:30 on January 20, 2026, at the Stadio Giovanni Zini, is considered a crucial "relegation battle" in Serie A. While the home team is striving to consolidate its position in the middle of the table, Verona is languishing at the bottom with extremely alarming form.

Current context and form

Cremonese currently sits in 14th place in the league table with 22 points after 20 rounds. However, consistency is a key issue for the home team, as they have only managed two draws and suffered three defeats in their last five matches. Since the start of the season, Cremonese has recorded five wins, seven draws, and eight losses.

In contrast, Verona's situation is far more dire. The visiting team is stuck in 20th place with only 13 points. Verona's form in their last five matches has been extremely poor, with four losses and only one draw. With only two wins in 20 rounds, the pressure on the visiting players is immense.

Analysis of goal difference and head-to-head history

Neither team's attack is highly rated. Cremonese has scored 20 goals (an average of 1.0 goal per game), while Verona has only 17. Verona's biggest weakness lies in their defense, having conceded 34 goals, an average of 1.7 goals per game. Cremonese's figure is 28 goals conceded.

In terms of head-to-head history, the results in the last 5 meetings have been fairly balanced. Specifically:

• September 15, 2025: Verona 0 - 0 Cremonese
• April 30, 2023: Cremonese 1 - 1 Verona
• January 10, 2023: Verona 2 - 0 Cremonese
• July 30, 2022: Verona 4 - 3 Cremonese
• August 19, 2019: Verona 1 - 2 Cremonese

As can be seen, in these 5 matches, each team won 1 game, Verona won 1 game, Cremonese won 1 game, and 2 games ended in a draw.

Team situation and tactical predictions

Cremonese will go into this match without G. Pezzella due to accumulating too many yellow cards. The availability of M. Payero and J. Sarmiento remains uncertain. However, the main personnel difficulties lie with Verona.

The visiting team will be missing several key players, including A. Bella-Kotchap (injured), U. Nunez (suspended), and T. Suslov (knee injury). In addition, a group of players such as J. Akpa Akpro, R. Belghali, M. Frese, and G. Kastanos are also experiencing fitness issues and their participation is uncertain.

Predict the result

With the home advantage and the severe personnel and form crisis of their opponent, Cremonese is predicted to have a 35% chance of winning. The probability of a draw is also at 35%, while Verona's chance of winning is only 30%. Experts predict this will be a tight, low-scoring match, where the home team will prioritize safety to secure at least one point.

Team lineup updated at 00:08 on January 20, 2026

Official lineup

Cremonese

Diagram: 3-5-2

CoachDavide Nicola

Starting lineup:

• 1. Emil Audero (G)
• 23. Federico Ceccherini (D)
• 6. Federico Baschirotto (D)
• 15. Matteo Bianchetti (D)
• 4. Tommaso Barbieri (M)
• 33. Alberto Grassi (M)
• 38. Warren Bondo (M)
• 27. Jari Vandeputte (M)
• 24. Filippo Terracciano (M)
• 10. Jamie Vardy (F)
• 90. Federico Bonazzoli (F)

Substitutes:

• 16. Marco Silvestri
• 69. Lapo Nava
• 55. Francesco Folino
• 30. Mikayil Faye
• 18. Michele Collocolo
• 7. Alessio Zerbin
• 48. Dachi Lordkipanidze
• 22. Romano Floriani Mussolini
• 20. Franco Vázquez
• 11. Dennis Johnson
• 14. Faris Moumbagna

Verona

Diagram: 3-4-3

CoachPaolo Zanetti

Starting lineup:

• 34. Simone Perilli (G)
• 19. Tobias Slotsager (D)
• 15. Victor Nelson (D)
• 23. Enzo Ebosse (D)
• 14. Pol Lirola (M)
• 63. Roberto Gagliardini (M)
• 24. Antoine Bernede (M)
• 12. Domagoj Bradarić (M)
• 17. Giovane (F)
• 9. Amin Sarr (F)
• 16. Gift Orban (F)

Substitutes:

• 94. Giacomo Toniolo
• 1. Lorenzo Montipò
• 2. Daniel Oyegoke
• 70. Fallou Cham
• 20. Grigoris Kastanas
• 21. Abdou Harroui
• 36. Cheikh Niasse
• 8. Suat Serdar
• 25. Daniel Mosquera
• 41. Isaac

Thanh Vinh