MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 14:46:13| >> :600:12892286:12892286:
[monks data]
Spezia Calcio logo
Serie A | Gameweek 3
Sep 12, 2021 at 2pm UK
Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia, Italy
Udinese logo

Spezia
0 - 1
Udinese


Nikolaou (14'), Motta (40')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Samardzic (89')
Pussetto (13'), Arslan (14')

Preview: Spezia vs. Udinese - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Serie A clash between Spezia and Udinese, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Udinese will look to build on a promising start to the season when they travel to Spezia Calcio on Sunday.

I Bianconeri have taken four points from their opening two Serie A games and sit sixth in the table, while their hosts are 15th with one point.


Match preview

Udinese trio Gerard Deulofeu, Stefano Okaka and Samir celebrating their second goal on August 22, 2021© Reuters

There were suggestions that Udinese might struggle this season, particularly as last year's top scorer Rodrigo De Paul joined Atletico Madrid in the summer and has not truly been replaced in an attack that was already short of goals.

However, Luca Gotti's side drew 2-2 with Juventus on the opening weekend, before easing to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Venezia a fortnight ago with goals from Ignacio Pussetto, Gerard Deulofeu and Nahuel Molina.

Sunday will be I Bianconeri's first away game of the campaign, and they actually picked up more points on the road last season (21) than they did at home (19) on the way to a second successive 13th-place finish.

Udinese have not finished inside the top half of the Serie A table since 2013, but they will be confident of keeping their unbeaten start of the season going in Liguria before hosting Napoli next weekend.

Spezia's Giulio Maggiore celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on February 13, 2021© Reuters

Spezia were last season's surprise package in Serie A, finishing 15th in their first ever top-flight campaign and taking points off both Milan clubs, Napoli and Roma.

However, it has been a summer of change at Stadio Alberto Picco, with the squad being overhauled and Thiago Motta replacing Fiorentina-bound Vincenzo Italiano in the dugout.

Therefore there are questions whether Spezia can survive once again, and a 6-1 defeat to Lazio two weeks ago certainly set alarm bells ringing.

It followed a 2-2 draw with Cagliari on the opening weekend, in which Motta's side threw away a two goal lead.

Aquilotti have lost just one of their last nine home matches, but did lose 1-0 to Udinese at Stadio Alberto Picco last season.

Spezia Serie A form:
  • D
  • L

Spezia form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • L

Udinese Serie A form:
  • D
  • W

Udinese form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W



Team News

Udinese head coach Luca Gotti pictured on August 22, 2021© Reuters

Spezia will be without defender Kelvin Amian, who is suspended after his red card against Lazio before the international break.

Last season's top scorer M'Bala Nzola has not appeared so far in the new campaign after stating his desire to leave the club, but failed to secure a move away in the transfer window; Motta must now decide whether to bring the striker in from the cold.

Aquilotti made three deadline-day signings and could hand them all debuts, including striker Rey Manaj who is on loan from Barcelona.

Gotti could name an unchanged Udinese side after such a comprehensive win over Venezia a fortnight ago.

Gerard Deulofeu will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score in that game, while deadline day arrivals Beto and Brandon Soppy are in contention for their debuts.

Fernando Forestieri has returned to training after missing the opening two Serie A games of the season with a muscle injury.

Spezia possible starting lineup:
Zoet; Hristov, Nikolaou, Erlic; Vignali, Bourabia, Maggiore, Ferrer; Verde, Manaj, Colley

Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Becao, Nuytinck, Samir; Molina, Arslan, Walace, Larsen; Pereyra; Pussetto, Deulofeu


SM words green background

We say: Spezia 1-2 Udinese

Udinese will be the more confident of the two sides going into this game, and we expect them to pick up three points, but Spezia's signing of Manaj may give them a much-needed lift. Aquilotti have become known to defy the odds, so a home win is not impossible here.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



ID:463130:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9268:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Spezia win with a probability of 42.83%. A win for Udinese had a probability of 32.04% and a draw had a probability of 25.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Spezia win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.98%) and 2-0 (7.04%). The likeliest Udinese win was 0-1 (7.83%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.86%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7.8% likelihood.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Spezia vs Udinese

Spezia
23.4%
Draw
26.0%
Udinese
50.6%
77
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Portugal in June 2021
Read Next:
Cristiano Ronaldo 'asks not to start for Juventus'
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Parma30198357302765
2VeneziaVenezia30176756352157
3Cremonese30168640241656
4Como30167743331055
5Palermo30147952411149
6CatanzaroCatanzaro3014794739849
7Sampdoria30126124144-340
8Brescia3091293331239
9SudtirolSudtirol30108123939038
10Cittadella30108123439-538
11Pisa30910113638-237
12Reggiana3071673133-237
13Modena3081393540-537
14Cosenza CalcioCosenza30810123133-234
15BariBari30713102937-834
16Ternana3088143540-532
17AscoliAscoli30710133236-431
18SpeziaSpezia30613112842-1431
19FeralpiSaloFeralpiSalo3076173449-1527
20Lecco3056192858-3021


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!