Italian Serie A returns for round 17 when As Roma square off with the lowly ranked Spezia at the Stadio Olimpico this Monday. Kickoff is set for 13th December 2021 at 23:45 EAT.
The hosts will be highly motivated to bounce back from a two-loss streak in the Serie A. They have failed to find the back of the net in consecutive defeats to Bologna 1-0 on the road) and Inter Milan (0-3 at home) in the last two rounds before UEFA Europa Conference League triumph.
In their previous encounter Roma pulled out 2-3 Europa Conference League success vs CSKA Sofia. In that game, Roma had 51% possession, eight shots with five of them on target and goals scored by Tammy Abraham (15′, 53′) and Borja Mayoral (34′). The opponents, CSKA Sofia managed 13 shots with five on target and goals by Čataković (75′) and Yanic Wildschut (93′.
Spezia is not quite as illustrious as they are battling against potential relegation which is only two points away. Spezia travels to Italy´s capital having won just one of their last eight league games that is against Torino, however, they have taken just one point from their last four matches.
Coming into this game Spezia shared spoils 2-2 in the Serie A match with Sassuolo. In that match, Spezia managed 34% possession, nine shots with four of them on target and goals scored by Rey Manaj (35′) and Emmanuel Gyasi (48′). Sassuolo got 20 attempts with five of them on target and goals by Giacomo Raspadori (66′, 79′).
Roma wants to get back to the top-six in the Serie A table as soon as possible. They should be in position to take advantage of Serie A’s weakest defence while reigniting their push towards the European places. We are backing the hosts in a high-scoring contest here.
Roma vs Spezia head to head
This will be the fifth meeting between these two sides since 2015, Out of the four fixtures Roma has one wins, Spezia one win and two matches ended in draw.
- Spezia 2-2 Roma 23/05/21
- Roma 4-3 Spezia 23/01/21
- Roma 2-2 Spezia 19/01/21
- Roma 2-4 Spezia 16/12/15
Home
- CSKA Sofia 2-3 Roma
- Roma 0-3 Inter
- Bologna 1-0 Roma
- Roma 1-0 Torino
- Roma 4-0 Lugansk
Away
- Spezia 2-2 Sassuolo
- Inter 2-0 Spezia
- Spezia 0-1 Bologna
- Atalanta 5-2 Spezia
- Spezia 1-0 Torino
Roma team news
José Mourinho will not be able to call upon Stephan El Shaarawy, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola who are recuperating from injuries. Also, Nicolo Zaniolo and Gianluca Mancini will be unavailable for selection serving suspensions.
Spezia team news
Thiago Motta’s side will miss out Emmanuel Quartsin Gyasi and Leo Sena all due to injuries.
Prediction and odds
- Roma Win
- Goals over 2.5
- Both teams to score
