Spezia vs AC Milan prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-05-12 16:00.
Another defeat against fellow relegation contenders Cremonese 2-0 was a third consecutive loss for struggling Spezia, who have now won just one of their last 16 Serie A (SA) matches (D6, L9). Worryingly for the Ligurian side, it inevitably led to their fall inside the bottom three with a three-point deficit to safety, despite entering 2023 with a comfortable eight-point cushion!
Coach Leonardo Semplici will be hoping that the return of star striker M'Bala Nzola, who should start here from the beginning after his recent injury, will help his side who have failed to score in seven of their last nine home outings (W1, D3, L5)! Nzola was actually instrumental in their last win back in mid-January, scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot in a famous 2-1 win against AC Milan’s city rivals Inter here at Stadio Alberto Picco, something which should give Spezia fans some hope.
It was Inter who beat Milan 2-0 in Wednesday’s opening leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semi-final, and as if the injury to talisman Rafael Leão wasn’t enough, coach Stefano Pioli also lost Ismaël Bennacer in the opening 20 minutes of that crushing loss. However, Milan have to regroup quickly as they’re trailing Inter in the top-four hunt by two points with just four rounds remaining.
The Rossoneri fans were at least happy about reports that Leão signed a new deal with the club until 2028, while they also picked up a crucial 2-0 victory over Lazio last weekend. It’s a different story on the road, where back-to-back league draws have only added to a mediocre travelling SA record (W6, D6, L5), but with Milan avoiding a loss in each of their seven such outings against teams starting this round 13th or worse, they’ll be confident of bouncing back after their UCL setback (W4, D3).
Players to watch: Nzola has scored almost half of Spezia’s 28 SA goals this term (G13), but he’s never scored against Milan. Théo Hernandez, who scored against Lazio, was in the spotlight in the last two H2Hs after scoring a goal and missing a penalty.
Hot stat: Spezia have conceded before half-time in each of their last seven matches.