Spezia and Catanzaro will reconvene in Liguria for the second leg of their Serie B promotion playoff semi-final on Sunday night.
Luca D’Angelo‘s men lead 2-0 from the first leg at the Nicola Ceravolo on Wednesday, with Juve Stabia or Cremonese waiting in the final for one of these clubs, for a shot at top-flight football.
Match preview
Spezia are in complete control of this semi-final, and are huge favourites to reach the final, just two years after suffering relegation from Serie A, thanks to first leg goals from Giuseppe Di Serio and Francesco Pio Esposito.
After coming 15th last season, only avoiding the relegation playoff by one point, and automatic relegation by three, Spezia have improved greatly this time around, placing third, despite still finishing 10 points behind Pisa in second.
Finishing in the top four allowed Spezia to bypass the quarter-finals, and D’Angelo’s impact has been excellent since coming in midway through last season, when the club was languishing near relegation.
Last season was disruptive, as the club spent a fair portion playing three hours away in Cesena while the Alberto Picco underwent renovation, but they have certainly made home advantage count during 2024-25, taking 40 points from a possible 57.
It was tough to read too much into their late-season results, as Spezia already knew they had a semi-final playoff spot sealed, but they were very convincing on Wednesday, putting one foot in the final.
Catanzaro won 1-0 here in February, but a bigger victory will be required if they want their campaign to continue past this weekend.
Fabio Caserta‘s men finished 13 points below Spezia, and it was evident in midweek, but there are more minutes in their legs, as they had to beat Cesena 1-0 in a quarter-final to reach this stage.
If any club can overturn this deficit it is Catanzaro though, as their away form has been very impressive, losing just three of their last 18 away matches, but 11 of those games did end level.
They are a club who continues to rise though, considering they had to restart in the fourth tier in 2006, they only made it back to Serie B last season, finishing fifth, and losing at this stage to Cremonese.
Catanzaro are a team accustomed to sticking at it after close shaves though, because they only won promotion from Serie C after a third-place and two second-places finished in the space of four years, before winning the title in 2023.
It does look likely they will fall short again here, as they did last season, but they should not be written off ahead of next season.
Team News
Spezia will be without Nicola Bertola, Duccio Degli Innocenti and Edoardo Soleri once again for this second leg, with the latter two being long-term absentees.
Salvatore Esposito has been missing since the final day of the regular season, but his younger brother Francesco Pio remains the key man for the hosts.
The Inter loanee netted in the first leg last week, making it three in a row in these latter stages of the campaign, taking him level at the top of the Serie B scoring charts.
Catanzaro are set to be without three first-team players of their own ahead of this one, with Mario Situm, Demba Seck and Mattia Compagnon all battling injury at present.
Any chance of a fightback will likely depend on the performance of Pietro Iemmello, who at 33, has scored a very impressive 16 league goals this season.
Catanzaro’s next best threat in attack comes from an unlikely source though, as central defender Federico Bonini has scored eight goals and set up a further four in Serie B this season, despite playing the entire campaign as part of their back three.
Spezia possible starting lineup:
Gori; Wisniewski, Hristov, Mateju; Elia, Nagy, Kouda, Cassata, Aurelio; Di Serio, F Esposito
Catanzaro possible starting lineup:
Pigliacelli; Brighenti, Scognamillo, Bonini; Cassandro, Pompetti, Petriccione, Ilie, Quagliata; Biasci, Iemmello
We say: Spezia 1-1 Catanzaro
Spezia know what they need to do, and they have the ability in their ranks to get the job done here against a side that, on paper, just do not have that same level of quality.
Catanzaro have put in another brave effort this season in just their second season back in Serie B, but it looks as though Spezia will get their shot at returning to Serie A, two years after dropping down.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
