Spezia-Monza is a match of the thirty-second day of Serie A and is played on Friday at 8:45 pm: odds, predictions, TV and streaming.
La Spezia, along with Lecce, is one of the two teams that (almost) suddenly found themselves embroiled in the fight not to relegate.
The specter of Serie B, needless to turn around, has again materialized: if until a month ago the third-last place seemed very distant, after Verona’s comeback it is back there, dangerously close. Only one point now separates Leonardo Semplici’s Ligurians from the red zone. In short, a turbulent month is looming for the Bianconeri, no longer sure of playing in the top flight for the fourth consecutive year. The fast of victories meanwhile continues. Spezia has not won since last March, when it surprisingly got the better of Inter, chastened two minutes from the end by a penalty kick by Nzola. Apart from the success with the Nerazzurri, the only 2023 affirmation dates back to January. Against Torino, a shot from the eleven meters by the French striker, whose goals are literally keeping the Ligurian formation afloat, was always decisive. On the other hand, last Saturday’s draw in the derby with Sampdoria has the taste of defeat. In the second half, a header by Verde put things back on track after the blucerchiato advantage scored by Amione, but being back with only a point in the pocket from Marassi, against a team that now has a foot and a half in the cadetteria, certainly cannot reassure the environment.
Monza in the race for eighth place
Against Sampania, Spezia recorded its third draw in the last four days, interrupted only by Maurizio Sarri’s narrow home loss to Lazio.
Izzo
Simplici’s men will have to gamely aim for the entire stake in one of the two advances of the 32nd day against Monza, left without goals once they reached and passed 41 points. The Brianzoli have had salvation in their pockets for weeks but do not seem in the mood for gifts at all. In Liguria they come from a double victory against Inter and Fiorentina: at San Siro it was decided by a header by Caldirola, against the violets instead Raffaele Palladino’s team had the strength to react after ending up two goals down in the first twenty minutes, overturning the Gigliati with an own goal by Biraghi, Mota and finally a penalty by captain Pessina (3-2). At this rate, Monza could think about joining the race – purely symbolic, for now – for eighth place, which at the moment also involves Torino, Udinese, Fiorentina and Bologna.
Spezia-Monza: the latest news on lineups
In a crucial match like this Semplici will have to do without his goal scorer, Nzola, stopped by an injury. He will be replaced by former Roma player Shomurodov, who will complete the trident along with Gyasi and Verde. In midfield, we are moving toward the confirmations of Bourabia and Ekdal, but also that of Esposito. On the left, Bastoni is favored over Reca.
In Monza, the only unavailable player is Sensi. Palladino is expected to reintroduce the 3-4-2-1 with Colpani and Caprari behind Mota, the latter in a close runoff with Petagna.
The Prediction
In the new year, Spezia’s performance in front of its public has dropped dramatically: excluding the win with Inter, the Ligurians have not gone beyond a draw against direct competitors such as Lecce, Verona and Salernitana. They have the second worst home defense with 24 goals conceded and have not scored in three of the last five matches played at the “Picco.” Against Monza, however, motivation can make the difference and a positive result of Semplici’s men, despite the absence of Nzola, cannot be ruled out.
The probable lineups of Spezia-Monza
- SPEZIA (4-3-3): Dragowski; Amian, Ampadu, Nikolaou, Bastoni; Bourabia, Ekdal, Esposito; Gyasi, Shomurodov, Verde.
- MONZA (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Izzo, Pablo Marì, Caldirola; Ciurria, Pessina, Rovella, Carlos Augusto; Caprari, Colpani; Mota.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
