Preview: Lecce vs. Genoa - prediction, team news, lineups

Separated by 3 points successful the Serie A standings, Lecce and Genoa volition some purpose to propulsion further wide of information erstwhile they conscionable connected Sunday.

The 2 sides footwear disconnected 2025 astatine Stadio Via del Mare, with some having improved their signifier nether caller management.

Match preview

© Imago

Quelling the momentum built by precocious appointed manager Marco Giampaolo, Lecce mislaid their past 2 fixtures of 2024 - astatine location to Lazio, past distant to relegation rivals Como.

The second decision saw their opponents leap supra them successful the table, and the Salentini beryllium lone 2 points wide of the driblet zone arsenic the season's midpoint approaches.

Lecce had recovered the nett successful each of their erstwhile six matches - aft producing conscionable 4 goals from the archetypal 11 - truthful an onslaught led by Montenegrin striker Nikola Krstovic volition purpose to get consecutive backmost connected way this weekend.

His club's apical scorer with 4 league goals, Krstovic shoulders a dense load for the confederate side, who mean lone 0.61 per crippled successful Serie A - by acold the worst rate passim Italy's apical flight.

Now, the Giallorossi commencement a caller twelvemonth with 3 captious games against chap strugglers, visiting Empoli and Cagliari aft Sunday's contention astatine Via del Mare.

© Imago

Genoa's past travel to Lecce whitethorn person ended successful defeat, but this clip past twelvemonth they saw disconnected the Salentini connected location turf, and they volition caput southbound having won 4 of the clubs' past six meetings.

Furthermore, Patrick Vieira's men enactment unneurotic an awesome series of results astatine the extremity of 2024, taking them supra ailing giants AC Milan, Roma and Juventus successful the signifier table.

In their past crippled of the year, the Grifone bounced consecutive backmost from a nonaccomplishment to rubric contenders Napoli, beating Empoli 2-1 acknowledgment to goals from Milan Badelj and Caleb Ekuban - positive a important spot-kick prevention by Nicola Leali.

Since arriving successful Liguria, Vieira has suffered conscionable 1 decision successful his archetypal six matches, with Genoa signaling 3 cleanable sheets and gathering a six-point buffer to the relegation zone.

Danger inactive lurks implicit their enarthrosis amid a packed bottommost half, truthful the Rossoblu faithful volition anticipation their caller brag tin support that momentum rolling into 2025.

Lecce Serie A form:

Genoa Serie A form:

Team News

© Imago

Marco Giampaolo could person Filip Marchwinski backmost from injury, aft the Polish guardant resumed afloat grooming successful midweek, but Mergim Berisha is inactive struggling with a thigh problem; Lameck Banda and Kialonda Gaspar are surely sidelined.

As French full-back Frederic Guilbert is disposable aft serving a suspension, Danish winger Patrick Dorgu whitethorn displacement guardant to a much precocious presumption connected the right.

While Dorgu has scored 3 Serie A goals this season, 1 down Lecce's starring marksman Nikola Krstovic, Genoa's apical scorer is Andrea Pinamonti, with six.

Set to commencement connected the bench, Pinamonti's chap guardant Mario Balotelli has recovered from a microorganism that kept him retired of past week's travel to Tuscany, but the visitors are inactive missing respective men.

Caleb Ekuban, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Alan Matturro, Junior Messias and Ruslan Malinovskyi are each unavailable, though that would not halt Patrick Vieira naming a acquainted XI, with Stefano Sabelli replacing Norton-Cuffy astatine right-back.

Lecce imaginable starting lineup:
Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Jean, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Rafia; Dorgu, Krstovic, Morente

We say: Lecce 0-0 Genoa

Neither broadside are renowned for their goalscoring prowess, truthful it could beryllium a low-scoring - oregon adjacent no-scoring - contention astatine Stadio Via del Mare.

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