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TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 06:  Paulo Dybala (L) of Juventus FC in action against Evangelos Moras of Hellas Verona FC during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Hellas Verona FC at Juventus Arena on January 6, 2016 in Turin, Italy.  (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 06: Paulo Dybala (L) of Juventus FC in action against Evangelos Moras of Hellas Verona FC during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Hellas Verona FC at Juventus Arena on January 6, 2016 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

Hellas Verona vs. Juventus: Team News, Preview, Livestream, TV Info

Adam DigbyMay 7, 2016

On the surface, Hellas Verona’s last home game of the Serie A season appears to have little riding on it, with the already-relegated hosts taking on a Juventus side who have clinched the title with matches to spare for the fifth consecutive season.

The Gialloblu will be looking to end their top-flight stint in style, however, particularly following Luca Toni’s announcement that he will retire at the end of the campaign. “We played with focus and dignity,” coach Gigi Delneri told RAI Sport recently (h/t Football Italia), adding that it was “a shame about going into Serie B.”

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Hellas have endured an incredibly difficult campaign, going without a win until early February and having still only amassed four victories thus far. Also netting just 30 goals in their 36 outings to date, they will also be aware they have not won at home against Juventus since April 2000, a run of five matches.

Their opponents could not have enjoyed a more diametrically opposed season, winning 25 of their last 26 league games with only a draw against Bologna preventing that record from being perfect. It has seen them once again crowned champions, and they could potentially repeat last year’s league and cup double with the Coppa Italia final against Milan awaiting.

That game is two weeks away, and the Bianconeri will be looking to remain sharp until that date, but they were further boosted by news that coach Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new contract that will keep him in Turin until 2018.

“I am proud and enthusiastic about being at Juventus, because every year there are new challenges and objectives,” he said in a recorded interview on the club’s official website (h/t Football Italia) before adding that he hopes to see the team improve further still in the future.

“Juventus must always be competitive and winning in Italy, but also the duty to have a great [UEFA] Champions League campaign,” Allegri added, and he will certainly be pushing his players to win their final two matches of the campaign.

FLORENCE, ITALY - APRIL 24: Massimiliano Allegri manager of Juventus FC shouts instructions to his players during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and Juventus FC at Stadio Artemio Franchi on April 24, 2016 in Florence, Italy.  (Photo by Gabriele

Date: Sunday, May 8, 2016

Time: 7:45 p.m. BST / 2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy

TV Info: beIN Sports 1 (USA)

Livestream: BT Connect (UK)

Form Lines

Last five domestic results:

Napoli 3-0 Hellas VeronaAC Milan 1-2 Juventus
Hellas Verona 1-2 FrosinoneJuventus 4-0 Palmero
Empoli 1-0 Hellas VeronaJuventus 3-0 Lazio
Hellas Verona 2-1 AC MilanFiorentina 1-2 Juventus
Sassuolo 1-0 Hellas VeronaJuventus 2-0 Carpi

Probable Formations

Hellas Verona: (4-4-2): Pierluigi Gollini; Eros Pisano, Matteo Bianchetti, Vangelis Moras, Urby Emanuelson; Pawel Wszolek, Federico Viviani, Artur Ionita, Ante Rebic; Luca Toni, Juanito Gomez

Unavailable: Mohamed Fares, Samuel Souprayen, Giampaolo Pazzini, Michelangelo Albertazzi (all injured)

Juventus (3-5-2): Gigi Buffon; Daniele Rugani, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli; Juan Cuadrado, Stefano Sturaro, Mario Lemina, Kwadwo Asamoah, Alex Sandro; Simone Zaza, Paulo Dybala

Unavailable: Hernanes, Paul Pogba, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mario Mandzukic (all suspended). Martin Caceres, Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio, Alvaro Morata and Sami Khedira (all injured)

Player to Watch

VERONA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 13:  Luca Toni of Helas Verona celebrates after scoring his opening goal from the penalthy spot  during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and Torino FC at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on September 13, 2015 in Verona, It

His impending retirement makes Luca Toni undoubtedly the man to watch as the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner draws time on a long and storied career. Having represented Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and, of course, Juventus, the striker has ended his time as a professional with three years at Hellas Verona.

Adding a third leading scorer crown to those won in Germany and Florence, Toni admitted at a recent press conference that this current campaign—in which he has scored just six times in 17 appearances—made the decision much easier.

TURIN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 13:  Luca Toni of Juventus FC looks on during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and FC Internazionale Milano at Olimpico Stadium on February 13, 2011 in Turin, Italy.  (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

“When everything goes well it’s difficult to think about retiring,” he told reporters. “But this has been the worst season of my career, also on a mental level. The only way of stopping was to have a great disappointment and this year the disappointment for me was enormous.”

He will certainly look to end on a high and knows that a goal against the Bianconeri would allow him to do just that, although given Juve's impressive defence in recent months, that will be no easy task.

Key Battle

VERONA, ITALY - APRIL 17:  Pierluigi Gollini of Hellas Verona FC reacts during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and Frosinone Calcio at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on April 17, 2016 in Verona, Italy.  (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

If Toni will be looking to beat Gigi Buffon et al at one end of the field, at the other, it is likely to be a difficult evening for Hellas goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. The 21-year-old spent two seasons with Manchester United before joining the Gialloblu in 2014, making his Serie A debut that September.

This season has seen him become a regular between the posts at the Stadio Bentegodi, managing just two clean sheets, while statistics courtesy of Fox Soccer show he has made 66 saves in his 24 appearances to date.

Looking to add to his own impressive numbers will be Juve's Simone Zaza, the striker having bagged eight goals in just 587 minutes of action for the Bianconeri. A place in the starting XI would be only his fifth of the season, with that lack playing time cited as a reason he may look to move on when the transfer window opens this summer.

Juventus' forward Simone Zaza celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus Vs Carpi on May 1, 2016 at the 'Juventus Stadium' in Turin.  / AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO        (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Ima

Indeed, just this week, Sports Mediaset (h/t Football Italia) reported that newly crowned Premier League champions Leicester City were interested in Zaza, and the 24-year-old will undoubtedly be looking to impress potential suitors here.

Odds

Away win: 50-77

Home win: 15-4

Draw: 3-1

Odds via Odds Shark

Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢

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