Seeking to consolidate second place in Serie A, Champions League hopefuls Lazio travel to the Stadio Alberto Picco to face 17th-placed Spezia on Friday. While the visitors have put together a six-game unbeaten run on the road, the hosts are looking to extend their three-match unbeaten streak on home soil.
Spezia recorded their 11th Serie A draw of the season and their seventh since the turn of the year when they played out a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina last weekend. After an own goal from Przemyslaw Wisniewski had opened the scoring for La Viola in the 25th minute, M’Bala Nzola netted his 13th league goal of the season to restore parity for the visitors seven minutes later.
Only Udinese (12) have drawn more Serie A matches than Spezia this season and Leonardo Semplici’s side are still embroiled in a relegation dogfight, now sitting just four points above the drop zone following Hellas Verona’s win over Sassuolo. Although Spezia have won only one of their last 11 league matches, Semplici has seen slight improvements in defence as they have conceded no more than one goal in their last five games in comparison to at least two goals conceded in their previous six.
However, keeping Lazio quiet in front of goal could prove challenging for Spezia on Friday as they have conceded 14 goals in their last three meetings with Le Aquile, including a 4-0 away defeat earlier this season. Following notable triumphs over leaders Napoli and top-four rivals Roma last month, Lazio boosted their hopes of securing Champions League football for next season when they recorded a 2-1 home victory against Juventus last weekend.
Maurizio Sarri’s men remain second in the table and are currently winning the battle to be the best of the rest behind runaway leaders Napoli, with their latest victory keeping them five points clear of third-placed Roma, while seven points separate them from Inter Milan in fifth.
With no European football or domestic cup fixtures to contend with, following their Europa Conference League last-16 exit in March and Coppa Italia quarter-final elimination in February, Lazio can focus solely on Serie A duties and will be confident of continuing their strong run of form on Friday having won each of their last five meetings with Spezia by an aggregate score of 18-6.
