Spezia vs Inter prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-03-09 19:45.
An uninspiring 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers Hellas Verona last weekend did little to boost Spezia’s survival hopes as they missed the chance to open up a six-point gap to 18th place. That result did at least extend Spezia’s unbeaten run under new boss Leonardo Semplici to two matches (D2), who cited the “tension” of last week’s occasion got to his players somewhat.
That’s perhaps not a great sign, as his charges must now rise to one of the biggest occasions Serie A (SA) can offer – the visit of Inter Milan. It’s not a challenge Spezia have historically fared well in either as they’ve failed to beat Inter across six encounters (D1, L5) and considering Semplici’s side are winless in their last nine SA home games (D5, L4), failing to as much as score a goal across the last five, there appears little chance of a maiden H2H win here.
A 2-0 win against Lecce on Sunday saw Inter wrestle a stronghold on second place in SA as their quest for a sixth successive top-four finish continues. After Inter boss Simone Inzaghi claimed in the aftermath of that Lecce win that his side “never took our foot off the gas”, don’t expect Inter to lend Spezia a sympathetic hand as they seek to bounce back from their first SA away defeat of 2023 in their last road trip.
That 1-0 defeat against Bologna also extended Inter’s scoring drought in away league action to two matches, their longest scoreless SA run on the road since April 2018. Inter now face the possibility of matching that three-game run with another failure to net here, but considering they come into the round with a joint-second most SA goals scored in the opening ten minutes of games (five), they may fancy their chances of ensuring they avoid that feat early in the game.
Players to watch: M’Bala Nzola has been one of few bright sparks for Spezia this term, netting the second goal of the game with his last three home league goals. Never underestimate the importance of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on this Inter side, with each of his four goals this term proving decisive in victory.
Hot stat: Spezia are one of just two SA sides not to score a league goal after the 75th minute this season.