SPEZIA

League position: 17th
Head coach: Thiago Motta
Serie A top-scorer: Emmanuel Gyasi and Daniele Verde (both on three)

RECENT FORM

ROMA: W W L L W
SPEZIA: W L L L D

Roma secured top spot in the Europa Conference League’s Group C in midweek, with a 3-2 win over CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria that ended a run of two league defeats in succession.

The Giallorossi can quickly turn that into back-to-back victories when they face Spezia on Sunday, and they could move back into fifth with all three points.

With just three wins all season, Spezia are fairly firmly entrenched in a relegation battle, although they have a two point buffer to the drop zone after 16 matchdays.

It’s four games since they picked up that third league win but they did end a run of three losses on the spin last time out, albeit in conceding a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Sassuolo at home.

Possible Spezia line-up

(4-3-3)

Provedel; Amian, Erlic, Nikolaou, Reca; Maggiore, Sala, Kovalenko; Gyasi, Nzola, Manaj

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Emmanuel Gyasi

It’s safe to say that Spezia have been somewhat goal shy so far this term, scoring just 17 goals in 16 league games to date.

Gyasi has accounted for three of those strikes to lead the club’s scoring charts alongside former Roma man Verde.

The Ghana international grabbed his latest in last week’s draw with Sassuolo and Gyasi’s importance to the team cannot be understated.

The 27-year-old has been handed the captain’s armband on two occasions this season and Spezia will once again be looking to their top-scorer to lead them in the right direction in Rome.

MATCH STATS

Roma are unbeaten in their two previous Serie A matches against Spezia, courtesy of a 4-3 win at the Olimpico and a 2-2 draw away from home last term.

The scheduling of this game could be a positive omen for Jose Mourinho’s men as the Giallorossi are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A fixtures played on a Monday (W7, D3).

Only Atalanta (25) and Napoli (22) have earned more points than Roma (21 in eight games) in matches against sides currently in the bottom half.

Spezia have lost their last five Serie A away games, and only once before have they had a longer such losing run in the competition; six, from February to April earlier this year.

Going into this week of fixtures, no top-flight side has lost more points from leading positions than Spezia this season (15, level with Verona).

PLAYER STATS

• With Lorenzo Pellegrini in the side, Roma have won 62% of their Serie A games this season (eight out of 13), while they have lost all three league matches without him.
  
• Spezia coach Motta played under Mourinho at Inter Milan, winning the treble together in 2010.
  
• Verde played seven times in the top-flight for the Giallarossi in 2014-15.

WHAT THEY SAID

“Mourinho called me one day to ask me if I was ready to go to war. Thus I arrived at Inter. I had made an agreement with Roma… but Enrico Preziosi came to the locker room to say that he had given me to the Nerazzurri with [Gabriel] Milito. Then came Mou, someone who knows what to say and how to motivate.”

- Spezia coach Motta on being signed by Mourinho at Inter Milan