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The relegation battle in Serie A heats up as Spezia welcome Crotone to the Stadio Alberto Picco in a round 30 clash on Saturday.
The hosts are 16th in the table, seven points clear of Cagliari in the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Crotone are rock bottom, nine points behind 17th-placed Torino, who have a game in hand.
Spezia went into the international break on the back of a crucial 2-1 win over Cagliari at home. The Aquilotti looked set for a point against Lazio last week thanks to Daniele Verde's stunning bicycle kick.
However, Felipe Caicedo scored a late penalty to give Lazio a 2-1 win.
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Crotone ended March with losses to Lazio and Bologna, and extended their losing streak away to Napoli last week, falling to a 3-4 defeat.
Gli Squali came back from 3-1 down to 3-3 on the hour mark, but Giovanni di Lorenzo's goal in the 72nd minute undid Simy and Junior Messias' good work.
Spezia vs Crotone Head-to-Head
Spezia have five wins in their last 10 games against Crotone, with the Calabrians managing four wins and a draw.
Crotone defeated the Aquilotti in their last trip to the Alberto Picco, winning 2-1 in the 2019-20 Serie B season.
The two teams last met in December earlier this season, with Crotone hammering Spezia 4-1 at home.
Spezia form in Serie A : L-W-L-D-L
Crotone form in Serie A : L-L-L-W-L
Spezia vs Crotone Team News
Spezia
Vincenzo Italiano's lengthy injury list remains the same, while Juan Ramos tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. M'Bala Nzola should return to the starting XI up front, replacing Roberto Piccoli.
Daniele Verde is expected to replace Diego Farias after his goalscoring heroics last time out.
Injured: Riccardo Saponara, Nahuel Estevez, Titas Krapikas
COVID-19: Juan Ramos
Doubtful: Federico Mattiello, Gennaro Acampora
Suspended: None
Crotone
Serse Cosmi has a fully-fit squad to pick from, but midfielder Pedro Pereira serves a suspension after accumulating five yellow cards. Jacopo Petriccione returns to the squad after serving his suspension against Napoli.
Cosmi is likely to stick with much of the side that troubled Napoli, with Simy leading the line. Arkadiusz Reca is back fit once more and should return to the left wing, with Salvatore Molina switching to the right.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Pedro Pereira
Spezia vs Crotone Predicted XI
Spezia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jeroen Zoet (GK); Salvador Ferrer, Martin Erlic, Julian Chabot, Simone Bastoni; Giulio Maggiore, Matteo Ricci, Leo Sena; Emmanuel Gyasi, M'Bala Nzola, Daniel Verde
Crotone Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Alex Cordaz (GK), Sebastian Luperto, Vladimir Golemic, Koffi Djidji; Salvatore Molina, Ahmad Benali, Jacopo Petriccione, Arkadiusz Reca; Adam Ounas, Junior Messias; Simy
Spezia vs Crotone Prediction
Crotone are a different beast under Serse Cosmi, and with Simy amongst the goals, the Calabrians are sure to trouble Spezia. However, Crotone have lost 13 of their last 15 games, with their only wins coming over Benevento and Torino.
We expect Spezia to come out on top in a high-scoring affair, with M'Bala Nzola likely to find the net.
Prediction: Spezia 3-2 Crotone
