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

Aquile were beaten 2-1 by the reigning Italian champions AC Milan on Saturday, while the north-eastern Italians had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Lecce.

Match preview

Spezia have played the elite teams well in the 2022-23 domestic season but have suffered some late heartbreak, conceding in the 89th minute or later on three occasions, resulting in a loss each time.

Those narrow one-goal defeats to AC Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina should have manager Luca Gotti encouraged about how well his side have competed this season, but at the same time, they would have been frustrated to come up empty.

They have narrowly escaped relegation in two successive campaigns, and at the moment, Aquilotti are hovering around that line, sitting 17th in the table with nine points, three above Cremonese and descent into Serie B.

While this side have been vulnerable in the latter stages of its recent encounters, they have begun many games this year poorly too, conceding six league goals within the opening 15 minutes of play, more than any side in the 2022-23 competition.

Their 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina at the end of October was their first home loss of the campaign and the first time they had failed to score multiple goals at Stadio Alberto Picco this season.

In their two previous home contests versus Udinese at this competition, Spezia have failed to score, suffering a 1-0 defeat each time, though they earned a 3-2 victory in the previous game against them at Dacia Arena in 2021-22.

Udinese have been narrowly squeaking by of late, earning their share of results, but without a victory in five straight games in this competition.

On Friday, they only conceded one effort on target but needed a solid second half to equalise and earn a fourth draw in their last five Serie A fixtures.

Andrea Sottil has been able to count on some fine defensive performances so far in this competition, with Udinese allowing the third-fewest goals domestically (13) and maintaining consecutive clean sheets away from home in Serie A for the first time since July-August 2020.

Since dropping their opening match of the campaign to AC Milan 4-2 at the San Siro, Le Zebrette are unbeaten away from home, scoring multiple goals on three occasions.

We are still in the campaign's early stages, but Udinese are in the thick of the race for a spot in Europe next season, with only three points currently separating them in eighth from Lazio, who are third.

They have reacted well when going behind this season, earning 14 points from losing positions and scoring 14 goals in the second half.

Spezia Serie A form:

L

L

D

L

L

L

Spezia form (all competitions):

L

D

W

L

L

L

Udinese Serie A form:

W

D

D

L

D

D

Udinese form (all competitions):

D

D

L

L

D

D

Team News

Daniel Maldini had the only goal for Spezia in their defeat to AC Milan, the club that loaned him out there for the season, with the 21-year-old finding the back of the net at the San Siro 5333 days after his father Paolo Maldini scored on March 30, 2008.

M'Bala Nzola is tied for fourth in goals this season, notching five so far, while Daniele Verde had a goal and an assist in their 3-2 victory over Udinese last season.

Dimitrios Nikolaou missed their last match after being red-carded versus Fiorentina, while Simone Bastoni is doubtful for this match because of a muscle injury and Viktor Kovalenko has a hamstring strain which is likely to keep him out until mid-January.

Beto put home the equaliser for Udinese on Friday in their draw versus Lecce, moving him into third in Serie A scoring with six goals, while Marco Silvestri has not conceded an away goal since early October when they defeated Verona 2-1.

Lazar Samardzic had the only goal in their 1-0 road triumph against Spezia last season, while Gerard Deulofeu has only scored twice in 2022-23 after leading this team with 13 strikes in the previous campaign.

Adam Masina is doubtful because of a problem in his knee, Rodrigo Becao could be out until the middle of November due to a hamstring injury, while Sandi Lovric is dealing with the same issue and is not expected to return until the end of the month.

Spezia possible starting lineup:

Dragowski; Caldara, Kiwior, Ampadu; Holm, Ellertsson, Ekdal, Amian; Strelec; Nzola, Maldini

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Silvestri; Perez, Bijol, Ebosse; Ehizibue, Jajalo, Walace, Arslan, Pereyra; Success, Beto

We say: Spezia 1-1 Udinese

These sides appear to be evenly matched despite the visitors having 14 more points in the standings, and we expect another close contest between the two teams on Tuesday.

Udinese have a little more quality in the attacking third compared to Spezia, although the home side have been much more potent at Stadio Alberto Picco.

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