Spezia Calcio vs Atalanta Bergamo Preview 08/05/2022
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Spezia will be hoping to snap a run of three straight Serie A defeats when they welcome Atalanta to Stadio Alberto Picco on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Atalanta will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak to four matches in order to enhance their chances of playing European football next season.
With three games remaining this term, Atalanta find themselves eighth in the Serie A table – three points outside the top six.
At the opposite end of the standings, sixteenth-place Spezia are six points above the relegation zone and a whopping 23 points behind Atalanta.
Not only have Spezia lost each of their last three games, but they have also failed to way any of their previous four.
When you look at the bigger picture, they have managed to win just two of their past 12 Serie A games – registering two draws and eight losses along the way.
It is also worth noting that Spezia have the fourth-worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 63 goals in 35 outings this season.
Worse still, only the bottom four sides have scored fewer goals than Spezia’s 37. No wonder they have a dismal goal difference of –26!
On the flip side, Atalanta head into Sunday’s clash on a three-game unbeaten streak following a win over Venezia (3-1) and draws against Torino (4-4) and Salernitana (1-1).
It is worth pointing out, however, that Atalanta suffered three straight defeats to Napoli (3-1), Sassuolo (2-1) and Veron (2-1) at the beginning of April.
Atalanta’s recent away record in Serie A is hugely impressive. Indeed, they have only lost four of their past 33 away games in the league.
On top of that, only three sides – Inter, Napoli and Lazio – have scored more goals than Atalanta this season.
Head-to-head: Spezia and Atalanta have faced each other on three occasions since Spezia’s promotion to Serie A in 2020.
Following a goalless draw in the first meeting, Atalanta beat Spezia 3-1 before thrashing them 5-2 in the reverse fixture back in November.
Team news: Spezia look set to be without the injured pair of Leo Sena and Ebrima Colley for the visit of Atalanta.
As for Atalanta, they are currently missing Giuseppe Pezzella, Rafael Toloi and Bryan Cabezas through injury. Josip Ilicic is also absent.
Given that Atalanta won their previous two meetings with Spezia by a combined score of 8-3, the visitors are expected to claim all three points on Sunday.
Forebet predicts that Atalanta will score over 1.5 goals on their way to dispatching Spezia.
