Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
On May 21, the "Nicola Ceravolo" will host the first leg of the Serie B playoff semi-finals in Italy, where Catanzaro will face Spezia. For this clash, I'm offering a bet on goals / cards / winner.
Catanzaro
This team, half a century ago in the 70s and 80s, played in Serie A—spending a total of seven years there over several stints. But after that, they struggled to return to the top flight for a long time. In fact, it was only after the season before last that they climbed from the third division up to Serie B. As a newly promoted side, they immediately claimed fifth place in the standings, which earned them a playoff spot last year.
That playoff experience ended in disappointment. But this time, fans hope it will make the difference. Under Fabio Caserta, Catanzaro have nearly matched their 2023/2024 performance: 53 points and sixth place, even though Cesena finished level on points but had a worse tiebreaker. And it was Cesena who Catanzaro defeated last Saturday, thanks to a lone goal from Iemmello in the first round of the playoffs.
Spezia
The club made its Serie A debut in 2020. Even though they never finished higher than 15th, they managed to stay up for three consecutive seasons. Their relegation was nothing short of dramatic: they lost a playoff for 17th place to Verona. That blow was tough to recover from, and last season in Serie B, they were haunted by fears of another drop. Only at the very end did they manage to climb to 15th place.
This season, Luca D'Angelo's side has shown clear improvement. It quickly became obvious that fighting for the top two spots was out of reach—the favorites, Sassuolo and Pisa, were simply too strong. In the end, they finished 10 points behind second place but secured third with 66 points.
Match facts
- Catanzaro are unbeaten in four straight matches
- On average, Catanzaro score 1.33 goals and concede 1.15 goals per game
- Spezia have two wins and two defeats in their last four matches
H2H
Last season, Catanzaro took four out of a possible six points. In 2024/2025, the clubs exchanged away victories.
Catanzaro vs Spezia prediction
The bookmakers see the visitors as the favorites in this tie. But the hosts are capable of avoiding defeat (odds – 1.6).
