TOUGH MISSION FOR TEAM WITHOUT A GOAL: MONZA CAN BREAK HISTORIC AWAY FAILURE

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Venezia - Monza

April 12th, 2025, 3:00 PM

Friday's battle between teams from the lower part of the Serie A table will offer a clash of two sides desperately needing points in the fight for survival. Venezia will welcome Monza at their home stadium Penzo in the 32nd round of the Italian top flight.

The home Venetians are experiencing a horror period. Venezia has not won in 14 league matches in a row (8 draws, 6 losses) - their last victory in Serie A dates back to December 22, when they defeated Cagliari 2-1 at home. If they don't win this time either, they would record 15 matches without a win in a row for the first time since the period between March 2000 and December 2001, when they didn't taste the joy of victory in 21 matches.

Even more alarming is that Venezia hasn't scored in any of their last four home league matches. If they don't break through against Monza either, for the first time in club history they would remain without a goal in five consecutive home matches in one season of the top competition (they recorded four such matches also in the 2001/02 season).

However, Monza arrives in even worse form. The Biancorossi have lost all of their last eight away league matches, conceding at least two goals in each of them (24 in total, an average of three per match). The last team to record a longer series of consecutive away defeats with at least two goals conceded in the top flight was Crotone between December 2020 and April 2021 (10).

Mutual history speaks in favor of Venezia. In the new millennium, the Venetians remained unbeaten in four (3 wins, 1 draw) of the five matches against Monza in Serie A and Serie B. The exception in this period was the match that the Venetians lost at home 0-2 in December 2020 in Serie B (goals by Carlos Augusto and Dany Mota for the Biancorossi).

Of Monza's total 13 wins against Venezia in Serie A and Serie B, only two have come on away grounds. One of them, however, was achieved during their last away meeting on December 11, 2020, in Serie B (0-2).

Furthermore, Monza has been failing against newcomers recently. After four consecutive wins, they haven't won any of their last six matches (3 draws, 3 losses) against newly promoted teams in Serie A. The last time they won against these opponents in the competition was in March 2024 against Cagliari (1-0 at home), when Raffaele Palladino was the manager.

Both teams are among the least direct in the entire league. Venezia and Monza are the two teams that have recorded the fewest direct attacks in the current tournament (29 and 24). While Monza has scored four goals from direct attacks, Venezia is one of two teams, along with Genoa, without such a goal.

The match is given a spicy touch by the duel of strikers. Christian Gytkjær wore the Monza shirt for three seasons, making a total of 82 appearances and scoring 21 goals in Serie A and Serie B (including playoffs). Both goals he has scored in the current tournament for Venezia, however, have come on away grounds, while at Penzo stadium he hasn't scored in the league for almost a year (April 26, 2024, against Cremonese in the second division).

On the other hand, Dany Mota (who scored against Como in the last round) could score in two matches in a row for only the second time in Serie A, which he also managed last October against Roma and Verona. In the top flight and Serie B (including playoffs), he is currently the active player with the most goals scored for Monza (32), 11 more than those scored by his former teammate Christian Gytkjær (21).

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data.

Photo: source XYZ