Salernitana – Spezia : Preview & Prediction
Salernitana coach Davide Nicola has called Inter Milan “The best team in Italy” after losing 2-0 to them in the previous round of Serie A (SA) fixtures, but that assessment did not take the pressure off ahead of this weekend’s kick-off. Three defeats in their last four games (G1) leave a question mark over Nicola’s head, although with a higher points haul after ten games than last season (ten vs seven), a mid-table finish at least gives Salernitana some breathing space.
A win could take them into the top half of the table and change the team’s mood, but on the other hand, a loss to Spezia, who have just one point less, would see Salernitana drop down the table. Playing at home could boost their chances of winning somewhat, as their performance in their last four home games in SA (G2, E1, P1), in which they have averaged 2.25 goals scored, suggests that a point is somewhat attainable for the home side.
La Spezia halted a run of two consecutive defeats with a 2-2 draw against Cremonese last weekend, which was a match-up of SA’s most permissive defences. After a clean sheet to start their league campaign in a 1-0 win over Empoli, Spezia have failed to build on that, averaging 2.11 goals conceded per game in nine SA games since, with that being one of the main reasons for their poor performance during that stretch (G1, E3, P5).
The forward line has also been ineffective, failing to score in five of their last nine league games, although the fact that they have scored exactly two goals in the other four matches shows that they are capable of finding the back of the net if they set their minds to it. However, it gets worse away from home for Spezia, who have lost their last five away games in SA without scoring, and are now on the verge of equalling a long and embarrassing record held by Napoli since 1939/40, when they lost their first six games on opposition soil in the top flight in that campaign without finding the back of the net.
Players to watch: Salernitana’s Krzysztof Piątek has seen his last two SA goals registered before half-time, as well as his only career goal against Spezia, which came in a 2-1 win. Could Emmanuel Gyasi be the man to end Spezia’s away goal drought? If he does, perhaps it will be an agonising goal, as his last three goals at club level have all had the peculiarity of coming in first or second half stoppage time.
Key stat: La Spezia have conceded five goals in SA during the first 15 minutes in this campaign – tied for the most in the league.
Salernitana – Spezia : Betting Tips
Salernitana – Win Odds: 2.00
