Spezia’s away struggles and mixed fortunes for forward duo highlighted ahead of Milan clash

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan will face Spezia tonight at San Siro and the away side will be looking for their first point and their first goal on the road this season.

Milan’s official website recalls that only four teams in the history of Serie A have recorded seven defeats in a row away from home without finding the net (Napoli in 1939, Bari in 1950, Catania in 1955 and 1984 and Livorno in 2014), while Milan have won eight of their last nine league matches at San Siro.

Spezia’s attacking deficiencies are clear as they are third-last in Serie A for shots taken, ahead only of Lecce (101) and Sampdoria (116). The Bianconeri are also the team that has recorded the fewest shots on target (30), scoring in only 50% of their games this season (6/12).

Spezia are also the team that has scored the fewest goals in the second half (two) and in the last quarter of an hour of the match (zero like Bologna and Verona). No team has fewer goalscorers in the five major European leagues 2022-23 (three also for Wolverhampton).

Defensively Spezia have not been great either with the Ligurians allowing 213 shots (at least 18 more than any other team) and spending 315 minutes behind in games away from home this season, more than any other team.

No fewer than five of the 22 goals conceded by the Bianconeri in the league – the second worst defence behind Hellas Verona (24) – have also come from outside the box.

M’Bala Nzola is the main man as the French striker has scored 50% of his Spezia side’s goals in the league so far (5/10) and could find the net in two consecutive Serie A appearances for the first time since January 2021.

Emmanuel Gyasi wrote his name in the headlines with the last gasp winner in controversial circumstances in the same fixture last year, but the Ghanaian’s start this season has been extremely disappointing as he is still without a goal in the league. He is the player who has played the most minutes in the league without scoring or providing an assist (984 in 12 appearances).

Gyasi is also currently the player in Serie A who has made the had shots without finding the goal (17) and the one who has been caught offside the most times (13).

Tags AC Milan Milan Spezia
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