Spezia vs Milan: Rossoneri look to extend advantage at expense of hosts

Topics: TV Schedules, Spezia, AC Milan, Serie A

With Inter facing a tricky challenge against Lazio, Milan will look to take advantage of a seemingly more comfortable fixture when they travel to face newly-promoted Spezia on February 13th.

Preview: Spezia vs Milan

Currently featuring in Serie A for the first time in their history, Spezia have been a surprise this season. They notably dumped Roma out of the Coppa Italia, and made it to the quarter-finals before being beaten by Napoli, who were certainly keen on revenge after their humiliating loss in Serie A just a few weeks prior.

Vincenzo Italiano's men come into this match having earned a well-deserved 2-1 road win over Sassuolo, and although they've shipped 38 goals so far, their defense is far from the worst in the league. The Aquilotti presently find themselves in 16th spot, with a relatively comfortable six-point gap between themselves and 18th-placed Cagliari, so they do have a bit of a buffer ahead of this tie.

Meanwhile, Milan, who have gotten back on track following their surprising loss to Atalanta, are still on top of the Serie A table - but only just slightly. Cross-town rivals Inter are only two points behind, meaning that any slip-ups could see them drop down into second, and with reigning Scudetto champs Juventus quietly creeping up the table, Stefano Pioli's side will be loath to let things unravel right now.

The Rossoneri easily swept aside their upcoming opponents in their first ever Serie A meeting, and although Spezia have pulled off some surprise results - they've won three of their last six games - it's hard to see the Diavolo dropping points here.

With the Coppa Italia now a foregone conclusion after Inter knocked them out, Milan's focus will undoubtedly be the Scudetto - a prize that has eluded them for a decade. And given that both Inter and Juventus have tricky tests against Lazio and Napoli respectively, this match couldn't have come at a better time for the current league leaders to potentially extend their advantage.

Team news: Spezia vs Milan

Spezia: Italiano will be really sweating over the fitness of top goalscorer M'Bala Nzola, who is in doubt for this match due to injury. Fellow striker Roberto Piccoli is also struggling with injury and may miss out as well. Finally, skipper Claudio Terzi is also injured, meaning that Italiano will have to find other options in defense.

Milan: The visitors have been given a big boost with the returns of Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer, and Simon Kjaer from injury, which will give Pioli added options in midfield and defense. However, he'll have to make do without Davide Calabria (suspension), Brahim Diaz (injury), and young defender Daniel Maldini (injury).

Match facts: Spezia vs Milan

This will be only the third meeting between Spezia and Milan
Not surprisingly, the Rossoneri hold the head to head advantage, with two wins so far
Milan have kept eight clean sheets so far - which is the most of any side in Serie A
Spezia are the first debutants to earn 21 points from their first 21 games since Siena did so during the 2003/2004 campaign
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 14 goals so far this season, could become the oldest player in league history to score 15 or more goals in one campaign
Ibra could also become the first player since the turn of the century to score against 80 different teams across Europe's top five leagues
Milan haven't lost on the road since December 22, 2019, when they were beaten by Atalanta