Spezia – Hellas Verona

Verona should secure their place in Serie A

The Italian championship is not over! For the first time since the 2004/2005 Serie A season, there will be a tie for the right to keep their place in the top flight. Interestingly, the changes to the regulations, which made this encounter possible, have been introduced in summer last year. Prior to that, when teams were tied on points between zones, everything was decided by extra points. A head-to-head encounter scenario was made possible by defeats to the teams in the last round of the regular season. La Spezia faced Roma. The Romans, it should be noted, were playing four days after losing the Europa League final. "Wolves came out with a half-altered squad compared to the match against Sevilla and obviously tired. This was one of the reasons for the Eagles' quick goal. Thus, as early as the sixth minute, La Spezia scored in the opponent's goal. However, later on, the Ligurians lost control of the game, which resulted in a 2-1 defeat. It was not without drama: the Giallorossi scored the winning goal in the 90 +1st minute. Before that, Leonardo Semlici's side were defeated by Torino (0-4) and took a vital point against Lecce. Verona had an excellent chance to avoid that encounter and keep their place at home but a late goal from Empoli in the 90+6th minute decided everything. In the last meeting, however, the Mastiffs hosted Milan. The team were playing for a draw, but a late goal from Giroud in the first half and the course of the parallel meeting at La Spezia changed the plans of Zaffaroni's charges. A goal from Farahoni, however, could not help Ellas get the points: Leão celebrated the extension of his contract with a double towards the end of the game. The dynamic of the second half of the season speaks in favour of Verona. If Ellas had only five points before the winter, the arrival of the Bocchetti-Zaffaroni duo has allowed the Mastiffs to pick up 26 points. At the same time, La Spezia showed obvious regression. Thus, since the beginning of spring, the team have scored just two wins, shared the points six times and lost on nine occasions. Interestingly, the Ligurians have defeated two Milan clubs. Aside from that, they have nothing to boast about. Even their meetings with Lecce, Sampdoria, Salernitana and Verona ended in draws. The Hellas have come to the end of the season in a difficult catch-up role. The team has repeatedly demonstrated its desire to remain in Serie A, and the logical conclusion of the season for them would be just such an outcome.