Sunnday’s Serie A program draws to a close at Stadio Via del Mare as bottom-half Lecce entertain title-bidding Juventus. Both sides desperately need three points, albeit for quite the opposite reasons.
What once seemed like a comfortable cushion on the drop zone has turned into a four-point gap between Lecce and 18th-placed Hellas Verona. Roberto D’Aversa’s emphatic start to his managerial tenure in Puglia is a distant memory now, with Lecce going through a rough patch.
Last weekend’s narrow 1-0 defeat at Lazio condemned Giallorossi to their 14th winless Serie A game in their last 15 (D7, L7). As the pressure mounts on D’Aversa amid Lecce’s freefall, the timing for this fixture couldn’t have been any worse.
Visiting Juventus make this routine-looking journey in the midst of a purple patch, looking to seize control of the Serie A summit. Massimiliano Allegri’s side can take advantage of Inter’s pursuit of Supercoppa Italiana glory in Saudi Arabia to overturn a two-point deficit, at least temporarily.
Star forward Dusan Vlahovic returned to form just in time to bolster Bianconeri’s Scudetto pursuit, notching a brace to inspire Juventus to a 3-0 demolition of Sassuolo last weekend. The Serbian goal-getter also netted a stoppage-time header in Juve’s 2-1 comeback at Salernitana on their most recent Serie A travel.
With Allegri confirming the absence of Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa in the build-up to this game, Vlahovic’s resurgence must be music to Juventus fans’ ears.
Match Preview
Lecce
Despite Lecce’s long-standing struggles, it’s hard to write them off just yet. D’Aversa’s men are not only unbeaten in their last four home league outings (W1, D3) but have held visitors starting this round seventh or better winless in all three matches in 2023/24 (W1, D2).
Considering Lecce have been terminally unable to perform against Juventus, their decent home form pales into insignificance. Indeed, Giallorossi have only won one of their last 11 competitive matches against the record-time Serie A champions on home turf (D3, L7).
Bucking that trend on Sunday seems highly unlikely, with Lecce going seven consecutive home league games without a clean sheet since overcoming promoted Genoa 1-0 in September 2023.
Juventus
The abovementioned triumph against Sassuolo extended the visitors’ winning streak in all competitions to six matches. More importantly, Allegri’s troops have rediscovered their scoring touch, bagging an eye-catching 15 goals across their last four games. That’s more than they had accumulated across their 12 previous outings combined.
Despite their frontline’s resurgence, Juventus have not let complacency spoil their outstanding defensive record. Holding Sassuolo at bay marked their 11th Serie A clean sheet in 2023/24. Defensive resilience has been this team’s most prominent feature under Allegri’s stewardship, with only Inter (10) conceding fewer goals than Juventus (12) this term.
And they’ve performed equally well at home and on the road. Juventus have racked up five wins on their last six Serie A travels (D1), increasing the likelihood of maintaining their dominant run against Lecce.
Team News
The ongoing Africa Cup of Nations have stripped Lecce of the services of Lameck Banda, Hamza Rafia, and Ahmed Touba. Kastriot Dermaku is on the sidelines with a long-term injury, while there’s a question mark over Nicola Sansone’s head.
As for Juventus, Chiesa and Rabiot are not alone in the treatment room. Mattia De Sciglio and Moise Kean are still nursing injuries, with Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba still out with suspension.
Lecce vs Juventus Potential Lineups
Lecce (4-3-3): Wladimiro Falcone; Valentin Gendrey, Marin Pongracic, Federico Baschirotto, Antonino Gallo; Mohamed Kaba, Ylber Ramadani, Joan Gonzalez; Remi Oudin, Nikola Krstovic, Pontus Almqvist.
Juventus (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Daniele Rugani, Gleison Bremer, Danilo; Andrea Cambiaso, Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, Weston McKennie, Filip Kostic; Dusan Vlahovic, Kenan Yildiz.
Lecce vs Juventus Prediction
With momentum firmly on their side, Juventus head into proceedings as odds-on favorites to add to their 49-point tally. But this will not be a walk in the park for the Turin heavyweights.
In addition to Lecce’s decent home form, the visitors’ away performances mean this clash should be closely-contested. Juventus’ last five Serie A wins on hostile turf have yielded a single-goal margin.
Based on Lecce’s defensive stubbornness, another narrow Juventus win could be on the cards.
Prediction: Juventus Win
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