Spezia vs Sassuolo prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-08-26 18:45.
After recording identical starts and scorelines in their opening two Serie A (SA) fixtures, albeit in contrasting sequences, Spezia and Sassuolo have little to separate them based on their early season form. Spezia are coming off a 3-0 defeat to title hopefuls Inter Milan, which was the fourth time from their last six SA games that they’ve conceded three or more goals, and highlights the defensive issues that last season saw them concede the second worst tally of 71 goals in SA.
This is surprisingly still Spezia’s joint-best start to a top-flight campaign irrespective of this result, but they will be gunning for all three points here as they look to show they can improve on the 15th and 16th place finishes they’ve registered in the last two seasons. And if they do manage the win, don’t be surprised if it’s one of those rare days when their defensive line produces a resolute performance, as their last five SA home victories have been 'to nil', with four ending 1-0.
Responding to manager Alessio Dionisi’s assessment that they ‘did not deserve the result’ against Juventus (L 3-0), Sassuolo bounced back last weekend to defeat Lecce 1-0, with Domenico Berardi’s goal making him only the second Italian to have scored in each of the last ten SA seasons. The challenge for the visitors now is to post consecutive wins for the first time since early March, but they should be confident of achieving that here, as Spezia are Sassuolo's favourite opponent among current top-flight teams in terms of competitive win percentage (75% – W6, D1, L1).
However, Sassuolo will need to improve their recent record on the road after four losses across their last five SA trips (W1), a run that also included the club's joint-fourth heaviest defeat. Overall though, they performed better away than at home last season (26 points vs 24) and will hope to rediscover their travelling mojo at a Spezia side they’ve never lost to here (W2, D1).
Key battle: M'Bala Nzola has scored four of his last six SA goals at home helping Spezia notch three wins. Trying to stop him will be Sassuolo keeper Andrea Consigli who is looking to post consecutive SA clean sheets for the first time since November 2020.
Hot stat: Eight of Sassuolo’s last nine SA away games saw the same result at both half-time and full-time.