Soccer Italy Serie A Prediction

Salernitana vs Sassuolo - Match Preview

⚽ 22 April 2023 - 13:00 GMT +0

When gaining a point with a 1-1 Serie A (SA) draw against Torino, Salernitana recorded the first instance of two exact H2H results (with the same goalscorers) against a single opponent for the first time since 1968/69. Furthermore, it was also their sixth consecutive stalemate, which unsurprisingly remains their most common result since coach Paulo Sousa came to town (W1, D6, L1).

Nobody appears to be complaining as it has helped them to stabilize their position, and with a seven-point cushion above the relegation places, the Campania side is aiming for a third consecutive top-flight campaign. However, with only one win to their name in home matches against sides starting this round above them (D4, L5), starting the final breakaway here won’t be easy.

Sassuolo were deep in the relegation dogfight alongside Salernitana just a few months ago, but an impressive run of five wins across the last seven matches (D1, L1) has propelled them into the top half. Their coach Alessio Dionisi instrumented a masterstroke last round when Sassuolo beat Juventus 1-0 as well, with a clever substitution that followed a rather drab first-half performance.

The visitors have been ruthless travellers recently, losing just one of their last six away league outings (W3, D2), including nine combined goals scored against top-four contenders Roma and Milan. Another prolific performance might be on the cards here as Sassuolo won the reverse fixture 5-0, whilst scoring exactly twice before the break in their last two H2Hs.

📋 Players to watch: The home fans will be hoping to see Tonny Vilhena strike again as Salernitana are unbeaten in each of his four goalscoring SA outings (W2, D2). In his 250th appearance last round, Sassuolo’s French striker Gregoire Defrel notched up another milestone with his 50th SA goal.

⚡ Hot stat: Sassuolo have won 60% of their SA matches against teams starting this round 15th or lower (W6, D2, L2).

Lazio vs Torino - Match Preview

⚽ 22 April 2023 - 16:00 GMT +0

A fourth consecutive Serie A (SA) win saw second-placed Lazio extend the gap between themselves and a fifth spot to eight points, strengthening their ambitions to secure Champions League football for next season. Their latest 3-0 win over Spezia was also Lazio’s 18th clean sheet this SA season, and their goal has now been breached just once across their last eight SA matches (W7, D1).

Coach Maurizio Sarri believes he’s seen real growth in his team as the campaign has progressed, commenting they are less of a “superficial” outfit than they once were, helping them to avoid dropping important points. Here, they will be aiming to pick up a fourth consecutive home SA win for the first time since November 2021, but will probably have to do so without striker Ciro Immobile again who was recently involved in a car accident.

Standing in their way are Torino, a team that Lazio has drawn against in each of the last four meetings. The visitors’ last H2H defeat at this stadium came back in 2019, which should give Ivan Juric’s men some confidence. However, they are travelling south after two home fixtures against Roma (L 1-0) and Salernitana (D 1-1) which delivered just a single point.

Setting off on the road hasn’t been a pleasurable experience for Torino recently either as they’ve won just one of their last six away matches (D2, L3). That, plus their current run of four games without a win has hindered their top-half ambitions and with only one point gained from seven away matches against current top-eight sides, Torino fans won’t be travelling with much optimism.

📋 Players to watch: After netting against Spezia, Felipe Anderson has scored four of his last six SA goals after the break. Later last weekend, saving a point for Torino was Antonio Sanabria with his sixth goal contribution across the last eight matches (G5, A1).

⚡ Hot stat: Lazio has won a joint-league high five home matches after drawing at half-time.

Sampdoria vs Spezia - Match Preview

⚽ 22 April 2023 - 18:45 GMT +0

The clock is ticking on Serie A’s (SA) bottom club Sampdoria, who need a miracle at this stage if they’re to mastermind a Houdini-like escape from relegation this season. It’s hard to see how manager Dejan Stanković could possibly have a trick up his sleeve considering his side is the league’s lowest scorer both overall and at home, while their failure to score in 17 SA matches this season is also a competition-high.

Don’t write them off just yet though, as that’s not quite been the case at home recently, with Sampdoria finding the net in three of their last four outings at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris (W1, D1, L2). They’ll be desperate to protect their diminutive unbeaten home record against Spezia in the hunt for points then (W1, D1), and considering no H2H between the two sides has ever ended in defeat for the home side on the day, they appear well placed to do so.

Spezia are ten points better off than their hosts, which affords them relief from the relegation zone by only a single place prior to the weekend’s action. Leonardo Semplici’s men find themselves in troubled waters partly due to a recent four-game winless run (D2, L2), which has exacerbated their goalscoring issues with Spezia having scored only nine goals in their last 14 SA matches.

If their recent offensive troubles continue, the Little Eagles will almost certainly be nesting in the bottom three soon, especially considering no team has conceded the opening goal more often than their tally of 21 this SA campaign. Hitting the road only serves to further dampen their chances of a revival beginning right here, as only Sampdoria (ten) have lost more SA games on their travels this season than Spezia (nine).

📋 Players to watch: Manolo Gabbiadini will be tasked with getting Sampdoria off to a positive start given each of his last ten goalscoring outings have seen him net his side’s opener. Meanwhile, M'Bala Nzola scored Spezia’s winner in the reverse fixture, and he’ll likely prove dangerous once again considering six of his last eight goals have come away from home.

⚡ Hot stat: Spezia is the only SA team yet to score past the 75th minute away from home this season.