Spezia vs Fiorentina

Fiorentina’s pursuit of a coveted European finish continues on Tuesday as they head to the Stadio Alberto Picco to take on high-flying Spezia.

An action-packed 2-2 draw with fellow relegation fighters Salernitana last time out halted Spezia’s impressive run of three Serie A wins in a row. However, Thiago Motta’s men have escaped from the drop zone, building a four-point lead over 18th-placed Cagliari while amassing more points (26) than they had at this stage of last season. There’s a piece of history open for the taking here, as ‘I Bianchi’ have never gone five consecutive Serie A matches without losing before. That could be hard to achieve, given that Spezia have lost both previous Serie A meetings with Fiorentina by an identical 3-0 scoreline. Encouragingly, though, their only top-flight H2H at the Stadio Alberto Picco yielded a 2-2 draw, with Spezia coming from a 2-0 down to avoid defeat.

In the meantime, Fiorentina’s first Serie A fixture following Dusan Vlahovic’s blockbuster switch to Juventus saw them fall to a dismal 3-0 home defeat to Lazio. But ‘La Viola’ bounced back instantaneously to overcome Atalanta 3-2 in a ‘goal-friendly’ Coppa Italia midweek. Back to Serie A, where they sit six points adrift of the European spots, with two games in hand on sixth-placed Lazio, Vincenzo Italiano’s men will be seeking their first away win since early December. Indeed, the visitors have failed to win any of their last three Serie A away games (D2, L1) after conceding first on each occasion. Another scoring blank here would see Fiorentina go two successive matches without scoring for the first time this Serie A campaign. Their paltry average of one goal netted per league trip this season doesn’t look promising, though.