Cremonese Face Hellas Verona In High-Stakes Serie A Relegation Clash

Monday night in Cremona promises high drama as Cremonese prepare to host Hellas Verona at the Stadio Giovanni Zini in a Serie A relegation battle with everything on the line. Both sides enter the fixture desperate for a turnaround, and with the threat of relegation looming, neither can afford to blink. The stakes? Survival, pride, and a chance to shift momentum in a season that’s been anything but easy for either squad.

Cremonese’s campaign has taken a worrying nosedive since their early December win over Lecce. Since then, the Gray and Reds have managed just two league goals and are now six matches without a victory, collecting a mere two draws in that stretch. Their most recent outing—a bruising 5-0 defeat away to Juventus on January 12—laid bare the team’s current struggles. Though they still sit eight points above the drop zone, the momentum is clearly against them. Home form hasn’t offered much comfort either, with just two wins all season at the Stadio Giovanni Zini and only one success from their last eight fixtures there.

"We have to find a way to get our confidence back," Cremonese head coach Davide Nicola said in the wake of the Juventus defeat. But that’s easier said than done for a team that’s failed to score against any of the current bottom three so far this campaign. And with Nicola himself suspended for this match, alongside defender Giuseppe Pezzella, the task becomes even steeper. Injuries haven’t helped either, with Jeremy Sarmiento and Martin Payero both sidelined, further limiting the home side’s options.

Jamie Vardy, the veteran English striker, is expected to lead the line for Cremonese. While Vardy brings a wealth of experience—boasting 235 career goals and 73 assists—he’ll need support. Federico Bonazzoli has been one of the few bright spots for Cremonese, netting five goals and providing two assists in Serie A this season. His sharp movement and link-up play have helped keep the attack ticking, and the team will look to him for inspiration once more. "Bonazzoli is a player who can exploit gaps and make something out of nothing," as one analyst put it. Whether that’s enough to break their scoring drought remains the big question.

On the other side, Hellas Verona have had their own share of misery. The Yellow and Blues are propping up the Serie A table, four points adrift of safety, and own the league’s worst defensive record as of January 19, 2026. Their latest setback came in a 3-2 home loss to Bologna on January 15, a match where they surrendered an early lead. That result marked Verona’s fourth defeat in five league outings. However, it’s worth noting that their struggles have been more pronounced at home; away from the Bentegodi, Verona have avoided defeat in three of their last five matches—a glimmer of hope as they hit the road again.

"We know what’s at stake and we’re not giving up," Verona manager Paolo Zanetti insisted after the Bologna match. But the squad faces a raft of absences for this trip. Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Rafik Belghali, Tomas Suslov, Grigoris Kastanos, Martin Frese, and Armel Bella-Kotchap are all out injured, while Unai Núñez is suspended. The predicted lineup sees Lorenzo Montipo in goal, with Gagliardini, Nelsson, Valentini, Niasse, Serdar, Al Musrati, Bernede, Bradaric, Orban, and Sarr forming the outfield unit.

Gift Orban is the man to watch for Verona. The Nigerian forward has notched six Serie A goals this season, including three away from home, and has scored twice in his last three matches. His pace and directness on the counter-attack could cause real problems for a Cremonese back line that was ruthlessly exposed by Juventus just days ago. Orban’s career stats—36 goals and 3 assists in 5,063 minutes—underscore his finishing prowess. "Orban is a constant threat, especially when given space to run," noted one Serie A observer.

Between the posts, Emil Audero will marshal Cremonese’s defense. The Indonesian international boasts a 77.0% save rate this season, with five clean sheets to his name. Across his career, Audero has tallied 574 saves in 191 starts, conceding 1.52 goals per 90 minutes. His opposite number, Lorenzo Montipo, will be hoping to steady Verona’s leaky defense. Montipo has a career save percentage of 64.1% and has kept 35 clean sheets in 199 starts, but Verona’s defensive frailties—30 goals conceded and only three clean sheets this season—remain a major concern.

The recent head-to-head record suggests a tight contest is in store. The last two meetings between these sides ended in draws—a goalless stalemate in September 2025 and a 1-1 draw in the 2022-23 campaign. In fact, four of their last five encounters have featured under 2.5 goals. Both teams know that a single moment could tip the balance in what’s expected to be a cagey affair.

Bookmakers have struggled to split the two, with odds slightly favoring Cremonese at 6/4 (implied 40.8% chance), while Verona are priced at 2/1 and the draw at 2/1 as well. The market is predicting a low-scoring, evenly matched contest, and the statistics back that up. Cremonese have scored just 20 goals and conceded 23 this season (a -3 goal differential), while Verona’s struggles are even starker: 15 goals scored, 30 conceded, and a -15 differential.

Discipline could also play a part, with Cremonese collecting 40 yellow cards and one red so far, and Verona 46 yellows. Both teams have found clean sheets hard to come by—Cremonese at a 26.3% rate, Verona at just 16.7%—so set pieces and defensive lapses could be decisive.

Looking at the lineups, Cremonese are expected to field Audero in goal, with Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti, and Zerbin across the back. The midfield should feature Grassi, Bondo, and Johnsen, with Barbieri, Vardy, and Bonazzoli leading the attack. Verona’s likely eleven includes Montipo, Gagliardini, Nelsson, Valentini, Niasse, Serdar, Al Musrati, Bernede, Bradaric, Orban, and Sarr.

With both sides desperate for points and missing key players, the margins will be razor-thin. The last time they met, neither side could find a breakthrough. Will Monday night finally see one of these teams seize their moment, or will the tension produce another stalemate?

As kickoff approaches, the tension is palpable. The fans at the Stadio Giovanni Zini know what’s at stake, and so do the players. Whether it’s Vardy’s experience, Bonazzoli’s flair, or Orban’s speed that proves decisive, one thing is certain: this relegation battle is far from over, and tonight’s clash could shape the destiny of both clubs for the rest of the Serie A season.