Serie A 2022/23 relegation will be decided in special match

Serie A 2022/23 relegation battle gets a historic denouement due to the results during the last round. Spezia and Hellas Verona will play a decisive match on Sunday, which should determine which of the two clubs is relegated.

Rare denouement will decide the fate in Italian relegation battle

It is the first time since 2005 that an extra game is needed to force a decision in the relegation battle. The Serie A rule is that the title fight or retention cannot be decided on goal difference when the number of points is equal. The last time such a jump-off duel was necessary was in the 2004/05 season. Then Bologna lost to Parma over two matches and followed Atalanta Bergamo and Brescia to Serie B.

Eighteen years later, Spezia and Hellas Verona will decide on neutral ground who will remain active at the highest level and who will become the third relegated player after Sam Lammers and Sampdoria and Cremonese. Jeroen Zoet got a chance under the bar in the lost competition match with AS Roma on Sunday.

Spezia coach Leonardo Semplici draws confidence from the performance against Roma

Because Zoet could not prevent a 2-1 defeat in Rome and Hellas Verona also lost to AC Milan (3-1) at the same time, the season will be extended by a week for both clubs. Spezia coach Leonardo Semplici draws confidence from the performance against Roma, which only won in the final phase through a striking penalty from Paulo Dybala. “We played well against a strong opponent like Roma, we have a good chance in the play-off,” he said.

Semplici knows that the mental aspect will play a major role in the decision game with Hellas Verona. Hellas coach Marco Zaffaroni also expects emotions to run high in the basement cracker against Spezia, which won 2-1 in Verona in November. At the beginning of March, the mutual duel in La Spezia ended in a goalless draw.

Serie A 2022/23 standings