SPEZIA

League position: 13th
Head coach: Vincenzo Italiano
Serie A top-scorer: M’bala Nzola (9)

RECENT FORM

Spezia: L W W D W
Roma: W W D L L

Since slipping into the Serie A relegation zone on Matchday 15, Spezia have gone three games unbeaten in the league and made it four without loss in all competitions as they knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night.

It’s fine form considering Italiano’s side went eight league games without a win (D3, L5) before beating Napoli on MD16 and they are now looking for a second win in five days over the Giallorossi.

As for Paulo Fonseca's side, it's been a week to forget after Derby della Capitale defeat and their cup exit but they do remain fourth in the table.

A win could take Roma within six points of top spot, and only Inter Milan (22 points) boast a better Serie A home record than the Giallorossi (21 points), who are the only unbeaten team left in the division after nine top-light outings (W6, D3) at the Olimpico in 2020-21.

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Emmanuel Gyasi

Without top-scorer M’Bala Nzola, who has contributed 39 per cent of their 23 total league goals (nine), Spezia were expected to struggle but have instead claimed a draw at Torino and beaten Roma in quick succession without their leading man.

January signing Riccardo Saponara hit a brace on his full debut in midweek, which allowed Italiano to rest Gyasi and still progress to the quarter-finals of the cup.

It means Gyasi - a fast, tricky winger whose goal in the playoff final first-leg last year took Spezia up - will not only have fresh legs if, as expected, he returns to the Spezia starting lineup on Saturday, but he'll also have a point to prove with competition for places hotting up at the Alberto Picco.

MATCH STATS

Roma and Spezia have now met twice before in the Coppa Italia but this will be their first Serie A fixture in history.

Spezia claimed victories in both previous cup meetings, with both going to extra-time.

Roma have won each of their last four Serie A matches against sides from Liguria (Genoa and Sampdoria), while their last defeat against a team from the region was a 1-0 defeat at home to Sampdoria back in January 2018.

The Giallorossi are currently enjoying the longest winning run against promoted sides (25) in Serie A history and the longest run of games scored in a row (52) in such fixtures.

PLAYER STATS

• Henrikh Mkhitaryan's strike against Spezia in midweek means he is the only Roma player to have scored in all three competitions (Serie A, Europa League, Coppa Italia) so far this season.
  
• Borja Mayoral has scored three goals in his last two league starts, two of which came against a promoted side (Crotone).
  
• On-loan Spezia winger Daniele Verde - who scored against the Giallorossi on Tuesday - came through the Roma academy and made his Serie A debut with the club in January 2015.
  
• Diego Farias has now gone eight top-flight games without finding the back of the net against Roma, which is his longest barren run against any team in Serie A.

WHAT THEY SAID

"We lived through an unpleasant period, in which the results didn't smile on us, but even in difficult moments we tried to cling to our performances, because those have never been lacking. Right now we are improving a lot, it's a positive moment, but we can't let our guard down. An even more difficult challenge awaits us on Saturday."

- Spezia coach Vincenzo Italiano