Spal vs Roma Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Spal:
Viviano; Cionek, Felipe, Bonifazi; Lazzari, Kurtic, Missiroli, Murgia, Fares; Paloschi, Petagna
Roma:
Olsen; Santon, Fazio, Juan Jesus, Kolarov; Cristante, Nzonzi; Kluivert, Schick, El Shaarawy; Dzeko
Spal are on the 16th position with 23 points. They are just two places and just two points away from the drop zone. The situation is very complicated and coach Leonardo Semplici feels some pressure, as well as the players. The home results aren't at desired level, winning only twice in 13 games. What is worse, they are just starting a run of hard fixtures at home, with four of the Top 5 teams yet to come at Stadio Paolo Mazza. The overall form is also poor, the Biancazzurri are in series of two defeats. The first defeat came at home when they lost 2:1 to Sampdoria. Last weekend they suffered a 2:0 defeat to Inter at Meazza. However, Semplici remains convinced his team can secure Serie A survival. He wasn't disappoint with the performance of his players against Inter and believe they could surprise Roma in this match. Many things depend on Andrea Petagna, the club leading scorer this season with 10 goals. But he looks out of form at the moment - the striker has failed to score in his last two matches. Coach Semplici will miss the suspended Mattia Valoti, but there are two positive news. Thiago Cionek is available after serving a suspension, while Italy international winger Manuel Lazzari has recovered from injury and could play after almost a month on the treatment table.
Roma are currently fifth, three points away from the Champions League spots. The last period was very turbulent for the Giallorossi. They lost 3:0 the Derby della Capitale from city rivals Lazio, while few days later Roma suffered an elimination from the Champions League. Both defeats were very painful for the fans. As a result, coach Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri. The former Leicester City manager started well, with a 2:1 victory against Empoli on Monday. All three goals were scored by Roma players - Stephan El Shaarawy and Patrik Schick netted 'good' goals, while Juan Jesus scored an own-goal. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is now better, while the players confidence is higher. Just to mention, Roma have lost just one of their last 10 matches in Serie A and they are the third highest scoring team in the league with 51 goals, behind Juventus and Atalanta. There are some positive news for Ranieri ahead of this match. Edin Dzeko, Federico Fazio and Aleksandar Kolarov are all back from suspension, though Alessandro Florenzi is now banned. He was sent off on his birthday after saw two yellow cards against Empoli. In addition, four players are out injured - Kostas Manolas, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Javier Pastore and Daniele De Rossi.
Spal vs Roma Prediction:
I expect both teams to score at Stadio Paolo Mazza. Spal play at home and they must try to get something from this match. Four of their last five matches in Serie A have finished with both teams scoring. The situation is similar at Roma - the Giallorossi have scored and conceded on five of the last six matches across all competitions. Considering these facts, I expect an efficient match here.
Spal vs Roma Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.70 with Bet365