Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
On June 1, the return leg of the Serie B Italy playoff final will take place at the "Alberto Picco," where Spezia will face off against Cremonese. For this clash, I suggest a bet on goals, cards, or the outright winner.
Spezia
The club spent a long time working its way up to debut at the highest level of Italian football. Yet, once they made it to Serie A, the newcomers managed to extend their stay several times. They could have avoided relegation in 2023, but were unlucky twice: first, because local rules dictate a tiebreaker match rather than using additional stats when points are equal. Second, they lost that match to Verona.
Initially, after returning to Serie B, the team failed to impress—last year, they got stuck in the middle of the table. This season, however, they were in the hunt for direct promotion, but ultimately lost the battle for second place to Pisa, and did so before the final round. No worries, though—Spezia kicked off the playoffs with a confident sweep over Catanzaro, 2-0 and 2-1. And in the final, they kept a clean sheet in the first leg away from home, though they also failed to score...
Cremonese
The team periodically breaks into Serie A. The last time was in 2022. That campaign, however, ended in immediate relegation after just one season in the top flight. They couldn't bounce straight back up last year either, despite having a shot—they entered the playoffs from fourth place but didn't make it through.
This time, there's hope throughout the club, from fans to the coaching staff, that experience will make the difference. Once again finishing fourth, Cremonese entered the playoffs. The opening round wasn't easy, but they got the job done: after a 1-2 loss at Juve Stabia, they crushed their opponents 3-0 at home. Now, they started with a goalless draw on their own turf—not the ideal scenario.
Match facts
- Spezia have won three of their last four matches
- On average, Spezia score 1.54 goals and concede 0.83 goals per game
- Cremonese have won only one of their last four games
H2H
With the 0-0 draw, Cremonese are now unbeaten in eight straight games against Spezia, with four wins and four draws.
Spezia vs Cremonese prediction
The bookmakers see this as a close contest with no clear favorite. However, it feels like Spezia are finally ready to beat this opponent. Take Spezia with a 0 handicap (odds – 1.72).
