Monza cruised to a 2-0 win over Spezia in the teams’ reverse Serie A fixture. Carlos Augusto opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, and Pablo Mari killed off the match just after the hour mark.
On Friday night, Monza will visit Spezia’s Stadio Alberto Picco with a vital three points up for grabs.
Spezia are 17th in the Serie A standings, with 27 points from 31 matches. The Eagles are suddenly just one point above the relegation zone.
Hellas Verona have caught up with Spezia thanks to their improved form and the Eagles' lack of wins.
Spezia go into the Friday night clash with Monza winless in five straight fixtures. Although three of their last five matches ended in draws, Spezia are in dreadful form.
Monza are sitting pretty in 12th place. The team earned promotion to Serie A last spring, and the squad hasn’t looked back.
Monza are on a two-match winning streak thanks to victories over Inter Milan and Fiorentina. Fifteen points separate Monza from the bottom three.
Spezia took just six points from the last 18 points on offer. They scored five goals and conceded eight times in the six matches. The Eagles are not a good home team, as they posted a record of 3W-8D-5L at the Stadio Alberto Picco.
Monza managed nine points out of the last 18 points available. The White and Red scored eight goals and conceded eight times across the last six matches.
Monza are a decent away team, something slightly uncommon for newly promoted teams. Monza are unbeaten in five of their last six away matches.
Coach Raffaele Palladino has no fresh injury issues at Monza. The team is led in goals by Brazilian forward Carlos with five. Monza scored just 38 goals in 31 matches this season.
Spezia coach Leonardo Semplici will be without Goalkeeper Petar Zovko due to a muscle injury. Defender Emil Holm is ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Joao Moutinho is a doubt to play due to injury.
Despite Spezia’s lack of points in the standings, forward M’Bala Nzola has 13 goals. He is the only player to score more than three goals in the Spezia team.
Spezia have the third-fewest goals in Serie A with 26. Nzola scored half of Spezia’s goals in the team’s 31 fixtures.
Friday’s match should be a close affair. Monza won 2-0 in the reverse fixture, but this time, Spezia should play better. Seventeen of Spezia’s 27 points came at home. Spezia and Monza should finish 1-1 with the teams splitting the points.