Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Serie A clash between Lecce and Napoli, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
After reclaiming top spot in Serie A, reigning champions Napoli will head to Stadio Via del Mare on Tuesday evening, as they take on lowly Lecce.
While the Partenopei defeated title rivals Inter Milan at the weekend, their struggling hosts have still won just once in the league.
Match preview
Coming out on top in an early Scudetto showdown, Napoli both ended their recent losing run and put a halt to Inter’s seven-game success streak by beating the Nerazzurri 3-1 on Saturday.
The Italian champions rode their luck against last term’s runners-up, but goals from three members of their all-star midfield sealed the deal: Kevin De Bruyne‘s precise penalty was followed by two fine second-half strikes from Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
Though their visitors twice struck the woodwork and also scored from the spot, Napoli ultimately held out for maximum points, which will have come as sweet relief for ex-Inter coach Antonio Conte.
Conte’s team had returned from the last international break with two terrible away results, limply losing to mid-table Torino before being hammered 6-2 by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Now unbeaten in 16 Serie A home matches since last December – winning each of their first four in the current campaign – the Partenopei must head back out on the road for a midweek fixture in Lecce.
Having edged past AC Milan to seize first place, Napoli will try to maintain that status when they visit Via del Mare.
Lecce have lost all of their last five home games against Napoli, suggesting they should start Tuesday’s clash as long-shot outsiders.
While their visitors are going for glory again this season, the Salentini are facing a long fight for top-flight survival, having picked up just six points from their first eight matches.
Last time out, Lecce trailed by two against Udinese before briefly threatening a comeback: Medon Berisha scored his first Serie A goal from a free kick, and they then came close to equalising.
However, Eusebio Di Francesco‘s men conceded a killer third in the closing stages, making Konan N’Dri’s stoppage-time strike a mere consolation.
Defeat ended a promising three-game unbeaten streak, and the Giallorossi must now face down Italy’s top dogs.
Having accrued just two points and three goals from four home fixtures so far, Di Francesco has yet to turn around a longstanding lack of success in Salento. In that context, toppling Napoli is asking a lot.
Lecce Serie A form:
L L D W D L
Lecce form (all competitions):
L L D W D L
Napoli Serie A form:
W W L W L W
Napoli form (all competitions):
L W W L L W
Team News
Already missing first-choice strikers Romelu Lukaku and Rasmus Hojlund, Napoli lost their superstar playmaker on Saturday, as De Bruyne suffered a muscular injury while scoring from the spot.
The visitors are also without centre-back Amir Rrahmani, midfield fulcrum Stanislav Lobotka and goalkeeper Alex Meret; Vanja Milinkovic-Savic will continue to deputise for the latter.
In the absence of Hojlund and Lukaku, Brazilian winger David Neres filled in as a false nine at the weekend, but misfiring striker Lorenzo Lucca may be given a chance to kickstart his campaign against weaker opposition.
Meanwhile, Lecce will still be missing injured pair Filip Marchwinski and Gaby Jean, but Riccardo Sottil could recover in time to make the bench.
Like his opposite number Conte – who was born in Lecce but once coached rivals Bari – Di Francesco has a big decision to make up front.
Milan loanee Francesco Camarda recently became the Salentini’s youngest Serie A scorer, aged 17 years and six months; however, he must vie with Serbian striker Nikola Stulic, who has yet to get off the mark since signing from Charleroi.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Veiga, Gaspar, Gabriel, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Berisha; Pierotti, Stulic, Morente
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Jesus, Spinazzola; Gilmour; Politano, Anguissa, McTominay, Neres; Lucca
We say: Lecce 0-2 Napoli
Everything points to a comfortable away win, even if Napoli are having little luck with injuries and have a significantly depleted squad.
Lecce have won just one of their last 15 league games at Via del Mare – both losing and failing to score on nine occasions – and that trend is unlikely to end against the Serie A champions.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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