Venezia vs Modena: Akor Adams eyes perfect debut — Preview, team news, tips & H2H

Venezia begin their 2026-27 season with a Coppa Italia first-round tie against Modena on Saturday at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, and the spotlight falls squarely on new signing Akor Adams, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Super Eagles striker, who completed a record-breaking move from Sevilla in July, could make his competitive debut for the newly promoted Serie A side.

Modena finished sixth in Serie B last season and were eliminated in the promotion play-offs, meaning they remain in the second tier while their hosts prepare for life in the Italian top-flight.

Venezia vs Modena preview

Giovanni Stroppa guided Venezia to the Serie B title with 79 points, a campaign defined by consistency and an eight-match winning streak that broke the division apart.

The Venetians lost just one league match after November, and that defeat came at the hands of Saturday’s opponents, Modena, who won 2-0 at the Penzo in February.

Andrea Adorante finished as the club’s top scorer with 17 league goals, but the summer arrival of Adams signals a clear intention to compete at a higher level.

Preseason has been encouraging for the hosts, with an 8-0 demolition of Vis Pesaro, a 4-2 victory over Dolomiti Bellunesi, a 4-3 loss to Saint-Étienne and a competitive 2-2 draw against Stade Brestois in their most recent outing on August 8.

Modena, by contrast, endured a more turbulent 2025-26, finishing with 15 wins, 10 draws, and 13 defeats from their 38 Serie B fixtures.

With Andrea Sottil in charge, Modena scored 49 goals and conceded 36, a solid enough defensive record but one undermined by an inability to win matches at crucial moments. They’ve now appointed former Fiorentina U-19 head coach Daniele Galloppa.

Their sixth-place finish earned a play-off spot, though they ultimately fell short of promotion.

Ettore Gliozzi led the Modena attack with 11 Serie B goals in 34 appearances and has joined Mantova on a free deal.

Venezia vs Modena: Head-to-head record

These two sides met twice in Serie B last season, and the results were split. Venezia won the first encounter 2-1 at the Stadio Alberto Braglia in December 2025, with John Yeboah and Antonio Casas scoring either side of a stoppage-time consolation from Francesco Di Mariano.

The reverse fixture in February was a different story entirely, as Modena stunned the league leaders with goals from Daniel Tonoli and Gady Beyuku inside the opening half hour to claim a 2-0 victory in Venice.

That result stands as one of two Venezia home defeats in the league across the entire 2025-26 campaign.

Across the broader history, Venezia hold the advantage in this fixture, having won five of the eight recorded meetings between the clubs since 2016, with Modena claiming just one victory and two ending level.

Venezia vs Modena: Team news and predicted lineups

Venezia

Venezia have been active in the transfer window, with Adams the headline signing alongside defender Albion Rrahmani from Sparta Prague, full-back Thierry Rendall Correia, midfielder Thorir Johann Helgason, and defender Alejandro Gomes from Real Zaragoza.

Stroppa is likely to use this Coppa Italia tie to give minutes to his new signings while keeping one eye on the Serie A opener against Lecce on August 23.

Filip Stankovic should start in goal, while Gianluca Busio and Alfred Duncan provide midfield experience, and Adams is expected to lead the line alongside Adorante or Lion Lauberbach.

🇮🇹✨ This is how Venezia celebrated promotion to Serie A. 😎🌊 pic.twitter.com/1SUkQPBooB

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) May 10, 2026

Venezia predicted XI (3-5-2): Stankovic; Correia, Schingtienne, Bella-Kotchap; Kike Perez, Busio, Basic, Duncan, Hainaut; Adorante, Adams.

Modena

Modena’s squad looks noticeably different from the one that finished sixth last season, with Gliozzi departing for Mantova and Defrel leaving as a free agent, stripping the attack of its two most productive forwards.

Galloppa has brought in some familiar faces from his time in the Fiorentina system, with midfielder Alessandro Bianco arriving from the Viola to add energy and passing quality to the middle of the park.

Pedro Mendes, the Portuguese forward who scored three Serie B goals in 26 appearances last season, is the likeliest candidate to lead the line, with Daniele Montevago providing an alternative option from the bench.

Francesco Zampano offers experience at left back, while Davide Adorni and Bryant Nieling should anchor the central defence in front of Chichizola.

Modena predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Chichizola; Beyuku, Adorni, Nieling, Zampano; Santoro, Bianco; Bozhanaj, Olzer, Manquant; Pedro Mendes.

Star player watch: Akor Adams vs Gregoire Defrel

The managers: Giovanni Stroppa vs Daniele Galloppa

Giovanni Stroppa has built a reputation as one of Italy’s most reliable promotion specialists, and his work at Venezia last season only strengthened that standing.

The 58-year-old previously guided Crotone to Serie A in 2019-20, delivered Monza’s first-ever top-flight promotion in 2022, and took Cremonese up via the play-offs before arriving in Venice in July 2025.

The challenge now is proving he can sustain success at the highest level, an area where his track record is less convincing, with both Crotone and Monza struggling during their initial Serie A campaigns under his watch.

Daniele Galloppa, 41, was appointed Modena head coach in June 2026 in what is his first senior managerial role, having previously spent two years coaching Fiorentina’s youth teams.

As a player, the former midfielder earned two caps for Italy and spent the bulk of his career in Serie A with Siena and Parma, accumulating over 190 top-flight appearances before injuries curtailed his later years.

Modena see Galloppa as a coach capable of developing younger players while maintaining the competitiveness that Andrea Sottil’s tenure established, though Saturday’s trip to the Penzo will be an early examination of how quickly he can stamp his ideas on the squad.

Venezia vs Modena tactical preview

The formations offer a clear asymmetry on Saturday, with Stroppa’s 3-5-2 set against the 4-2-3-1 shape Galloppa favoured during his time in charge of Fiorentina’s youth sides.

Venezia’s wing-backs should find space to operate. Stroppa’s back three also gives the hosts a numerical advantage against a lone striker, allowing one centre-back to step into midfield and help Venezia dominate possession in the middle of the pitch.

Adams adds a layer of complexity that a flat back four must manage carefully, with the Nigerian’s aerial presence and Adorante’s movement in behind pulling Modena’s centre-backs in different directions.

Galloppa’s 4-2-3-1, however, does offer Modena a potential route into the match through the number 10 role, where a creative player operating between the lines could find pockets of space between Venezia’s midfield and defensive units.

The double pivot in Modena’s system will need to be disciplined off the ball, shielding the back four during Venezia’s sustained spells of possession and covering the wide areas when the wing-backs advance.

Venezia vs Modena prediction and betting tips

Score prediction – Venezia vs Modena