Napoli vs Spezia Predictions and Betting Tips
The quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia will be concluded this Thursday as Napoli and Spezia fight for the final spot in the semifinals. Read on for our expert tips and predictions.
Spezia recorded a shock victory in both sides' first-leg league clash early this month. What's more, they managed to secure maximum points with 10 men for the remaining 13 minutes of the game. As such, we expect Napoli to be motivated to get this revenge victory in their hunt for their second consecutive Coppa Italia title.
Favorable draw for Napoli, on paper
Looking at the talent embedded in all 8 teams in this stage, one could say that Napoli does have quite the luck given that they would face a side who are playing in the top-flight for the first time. However, the side from Liguria has managed life in Serie A quite well. They're currently 15th place four points off the relegation zone. With the target being to avoid relegation, we believe they're well on track to achieve this feat.
Napoli played out a five-goal thriller in the previous round as they knocked out Empoli in a thrilling 3-2 win. However, it is to be noted that Gatusso's boys haven't impressed in the league in recent weeks. Back-to-back losses to Juventus and Hellas has put a huge dent on their title hopes as they're losing ground on the sides in the top four.
Empoli, on the other hand, was handed a 3-0 win in the previous round against Roma. Although they actually won the match 4-2, Roma was penalized following a mix-up in the substitutions they made during the game. As such, the FA awarded Spezia with a 3-0 win given that it was a bigger advantage than the actual 4-2 scoreline. However, they failed to make it two wins from two against the capital club who quickly got their revenge victory in the league.
Napoli vs Spezia Team News
Fabian and Malcuit are both ruled out for the home side given the coronavirus disease and a calf injury respectively. Piccoli following his knock in their game against Roma joins Capradossi, Mattiello, Ferrer, and Saponara on the Spezia injury list.
Napoli possible starting XI:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Rui; Bakayoko, Zielinski; Insigne, Mertens, Politano; Osimhen
Spezia possible starting XI:
Provedel; Marchizza, Chabot, Terzi, Dell'Orco; Estevez, Agoume, Maggiore; Farias, Verde, Galabinov
Napoli vs Spezia Prediction: 2-0
Spezia managed to catch Napoli off guard in that monumental 2-1 win for the newly-promoted side. However, we don't expect to see any more surprises this time with the side from Naples moving on to the last four.
