Roma took the top position in their group in Europe. However, they have recently been struggling in Serie A and will be under pressure to defeat Spezia in their Monday encounter.
They have had a run of four defeats from their last six league games, which has seen them slip out of the European places, while Spezia have lost three of their last four and are sitting just above the drop zone.
I Giallorossi took victory over CSKA Sofia in their final group match of the Europa Conference League and secured a place in continental competition after the winter break, but their midweek victory in Bulgaria cannot cover their poor domestic performance.
Tammy Abraham played an important role in the 3-2 victory with his brace, but his six goals in Europe’s third tier competition are contrasting with just four from 15 apppearances in Serie A.
His latest league blank came last weekend as Inter took a 3-0 victory at Stadio Olimpico, with the second goal coming from former Roma captain Edin Dzeko.
That succeeded another attacking failure at Bologna just days before, when they suffered a 12th away defeat of 2021.
Roma are set to face Atalanta next weekend, and it is so important that they take the three points on Monday, as they seek to be in the race for a Champions League return.
Meanwhile, Spezia have the most leaking defense in Serie A, as they allowed their two-goal lead slip away to end in a 2-2 draw with Sassuolo at Stadio Alberto Picco.
Despite leading with goals from Rey Manaj and Emmanuel Gyasi, a late Giacomo Raspadori brace took away their advantage making them settle for a point.
Spezia had suffered a 10th league defeat of the 2021-22 season just a few days before, and they remain sunk in what seems to be a season-long battle against the drop
Roma vs Spezia head to head
The two Italian outfits have previously met in 4 occasions, which were both in the Coppa Italia and in the Serie A. Spezia have taken two victories, one being through penalty shootouts after a 0-0 draw in the Coppa Italia, while Roma have won once and they have drawn once.
Roma 0-0(P) Spezia 16/12/15
Roma 0-3 Spezia 19/01/21
Roma 4-3 Spezia 23/01/21
Spezia 2-2 Roma 23/05/21
Roma latest home form
I Giallorossi have shown some inconsistency in their performance in the past few weeks at home. They lost their last home match off the back of two victories in Seria A and the Europa Conference Cup. In their last five matches, they have won two, drawn one and lost two.
Roma 1-2 AC Milan 31/10/21
Roma 2-2 Bodo/Glimt 04/11/21
Roma 4-0 Zorya 25/11/21
Roma 1-0 Torino 28/11/21
Roma 0-3 Inter Milan 04/12/21
Roma latest away form
Despite recently losing 1-0 to Bologna in Serie A, Roma took a 3-2 victory in their last away match over CSKA Sofia in the Europa Conference Cup on December 9. They have had a relatively good form, as they have won three of their last five away games and lost two.
Cagliari 1-2 Roma 27/10/21
Venezia 3-2 Roma 07/11/21
Genoa 0-2 Roma 21/11/21
Bologna 1-0 Roma 01/12/21
CSKA Sofia 2-3 Roma 09/12/21
Spezia latest home form
Spezia have been struggling with their form at home, but have recently shown some improvement. They have won just three of their last ten matches at home in Serie A this season. In their last five, they have won two, drawn two and lost one, scoring 6 and conceding 5.
Spezia 2-1 Salernitana 16/10/21
Spezia 1-1 Genoa 26/10/21
Spezia 1-0 Torino 06/11/21
Spezia 0-1 Bologna 28/11/21
Spezia 2-2 Sassuolo 05/12/21
Spezia latest away form
Spezia have in the recent few weeks been in their lowest of form on the road, as they have lost in all their last five away matches in Serie A. Their last victory came on September 19 where they defeated Venezia 2-1. In the last five they have scored three and conceded 16.
Verona 4-0 Spezia 03/10/21
Sampdoria 2-1 Spezia 22/10/21
Fiorentina 3-0 Spezia 31/10/21
Atalanta 5-2 Spezia 20/11/21
Inter Milan 2-0 Spezia 01/12/21
Roma news
Carles Perez, Stephen El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini are ruled out for this match, with Gianluca Mancini being sidelined by a ban.
Either Borja Mayoral or Eldor Shomurodov will join Tammy Abraham at the front, with Chris Smalling, Rui Patricio and Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming back in the squad after resting in midweek.
Spezia news
Spezia’s forward is likely to include Roma primavera graduate Daniele Verde, who played seven Serie A matches for Roma in the 2014-15 season and scored against his former team in both fixtures last season.
They will be missing Leo Sena, while Simone Bastoni and Salva Ferrer would return to the first XI as full-backs.
Prediction and Odds
Roma have been struggling with their league performance, especially against teams competing at the top of the standings, but we expect them to make a result from this match against a struggling side.
With the poor structure of Spezia’s defense, they will be vulnerable here and we expect them to fall short despite their previous performance against Roma.
Odds: 1 1.45 X 2.98 2 3.21
Probable outcomes
Roma 1-0 Spezia
Roma 2-0 Spezia
Roma 2-1 Spezia
Roma 3-2 Spezia
Roma 2-2 Spezia
