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Action continues in Italy this weekend, with the Serie A campaign rolling on. This Sunday sees a showdown between struggling Parma and 14th-placed Spezia at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
This game could be seen as a must-win for both sides. Parma have won just one of their opening four matches in 2020-21, and have scored just four goals thus far.
Spezia, meanwhile, have not picked up a victory since the September 30 win over Udinese.
Parma vs Spezia Head-to-Head
Parma’s form, frankly, has been appalling in 2020-21. They’ve lost three of their opening four games, scoring just four goals and conceding nine in the process. Most recently, they suffered a 3-2 loss to Udinese following an 88th-minute goal from Ignacio Pussetto.
Spezia, meanwhile, secured a point against Fiorentina last weekend, but their only victory in the current campaign came over Udinese. They’ve struggled in defence, conceding nine goals in their opening four games.
As Spezia are a newly-promoted side, you’ve got to back to the 2017-18 Serie B season to find their last matches against Parma. That season saw a 0-0 draw in the Stadio Ennio Tardini, while Parma defeated Spezia 0-2 in the final game of the campaign to seal their promotion to Serie A.
Parma form guide: L-L-W-L
Spezia form guide: L-W-L-D
Parma vs Spezia Team News
Parma have a laundry list of injuries to deal with right now. More than 10 first-team squad members are unavailable for this meeting, with five players currently suffering from COVID-19. Winger Valentin Mihaila and forward Andreas Cornelius are coming back to fitness, but are still doubtful for this one.
Injured: Mattia Sprocati, Yordan Osorio, Matteo Scozzarella, Maxime Busi, Andrea Dini
Doubtful: Valentin Mihaila, Andreas Cornelius
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Roberto Inglese, Lauraro Valenti, Juan Brunetta, Jacopo Dezi, Bruno Alves
Spezia also have a number of injuries to contend with. Giulio Maggiore and Riccardo Marchizza are sidelined with COVID-19, while a further four players are on the sidelines with injuries. Jeroen Zoet and Giuseppe Mastinu are also doubtful for this game.
Injured: Andrej Galabinov, Juan Ramos, Federico Mattiello, Elio Capradossi
Doubtful: Jeroen Zoet, Giuseppe Mastinu
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Riccardo Marchizza, Giulio Maggiore
Parma vs Spezia Predicted XI
Parma predicted XI (4-3-3): Luigi Sepe, Vincent Laurini, Simone Iacoponi, Riccardo Gagliolo, Giuseppe Pezzella, Hernani, Wylan Cyprien, Simon Sohm, Yann Karamoh, Gervinho, Juraj Kucka
Spezia predicted XI (4-3-3): Ivan Provedel, Salvador Ferrer, Martin Erlic, Julian Chabot, Cristian Dell-Orco, Paolo Bartolomei, Matteo Ricci, Luca Mora, Daniele Verde, M’Bala Nzola, Emmanuel Gyasi
Parma vs Spezia Prediction
Both of these sides have plenty of issues to contend with when it comes to both form and injuries. With Covid-19 prevalent in both squads, either side could still find themselves losing more players before Sunday.
Given their current struggles, it seems like neither side will be able to build much momentum, and so a draw seems a likely result.
Prediction: Parma 1-1 Spezia
