Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
On May 29th at the Giovanni Zini Stadium, the first leg of the Serie B playoff final will see Cremonese take on Spezia. For this clash, I'm offering a bet focusing on goals, cards, and the winner.
Cremonese
This club is far from being among the giants and is generally rated quite low. However, it does have experience playing in Serie A, albeit not for long. In fact, it made a recent return to Italy’s top flight in 2022—though, again, only for a single season. That didn’t particularly faze the players. After dropping back to Serie B, they finished fourth and entered the playoffs.
That playoff run ultimately ended in disappointment. But perhaps that experience will come in handy now, since the 2024/2025 scenario is repeating much of last season. Once again, without breaking into the top two, the team finished fourth with 61 points. Then, after losing 1-2 at home to Juve Stabia in the first round of the playoffs, they responded with an emphatic 3-0 win.
Spezia
This side only recently made its Serie A debut—even though local fans still remember the unofficial, yet celebrated, championship title claimed during the turbulent years of World War II. In any case, the newcomers managed to stay in the top division for a couple of seasons, and only dropped out in 2023 after a defeat in a special play-off match—the 'spareggio.' That blow took its toll, and last season they produced only mediocre results in Serie B.
This year, however, they pushed hard to compete with Pisa for second place right up until the end. Yet, with a couple of rounds to go, it was clear third place was theirs, and it was time to focus on the playoffs. They breezed through the first round, barely noticing their opponents, Catanzaro: 2-0 and 2-1 victories.
Match facts
- Cremonese has lost two of their last three matches
- On average, Cremonese scores 1.65 goals and concedes 1.15 goals per match
- Spezia has won all of their last three games
H2H
For the hosts, this is a matchup with a favorable opponent: they are unbeaten in their last seven head-to-head clashes, picking up four points out of six against them in this season’s league meetings.
Cremonese vs Spezia prediction
The bookmakers are expecting another home success. But in recent games, especially in the playoffs, the visitors have looked more convincing—they should be able to avoid defeat (odds: 1.61).
