Serie A Preview: Inter v Hellas Verona

THE VITALS

Date: Sunday, November 9, 2014

Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy

Time: 20.45 CET / 2.45 pm ET / 11.45 am PT

BATTLE DOSSIER

Inter probable lineup (3-5-2): Handanovic; Ranocchia, Vidic, Juan Jesus; Nagatomo, Kuzmanovic, Medel, Kovacic, Dodo; Palacio, Icardi

Hellas Verona probable lineup (4-3-3): Rafael; Martic, Marquez, Moras, Agostini; Ionita, Obbadi, Hallfredsson, Gomez, Toni, Christodoulopoulos

Unavailable For Duty: Yuto Nagatomo and Dani Osvaldo are back, but Fredy Guarin is back on the injured list even though he was initially called up midweek.  Jonathan, M'Vila, D'Ambrosio, and Campagnaro are still out from injuries.

Operation Bounce Back: The Nerazzurri have to show the resiliency of a rubber band and bounce back from last weekend's blunder of a result.  They also have to bounce back from the tiring draw from their midweek Europa League match.

Fear Factor: 6: Hellas Verona have some very passionate fans, and their team has done pretty well since their promotion to Serie A a couple years ago. They have a decent squad that includes a number of familiar names, and only sit two points behind Inter in the league table.

Enemy Of The State: The big man, Luca Toni, is still a threat in front of goal despite being an 'old man' in terms of football. He has two goals to his name this season, and his large frame always give defenders an extra thing to think about while marking him.

Medal Of Honor: I am not pulling your leg, but I am going with Zdravko Kuzmanovic. 'Kuz' played pretty well against St. Etienne, and has been stepping up to fill the midfield as needed.

Likely Outcome: Inter have to win in order to keep their Champions League hopes alive. 2-1 for La Beneamata.