Separated by three points in the Serie A standings, Lecce and Genoa will both aim to pull further clear of danger when they meet on Sunday.
The two sides kick off 2025 at Stadio Via del Mare, with both having improved their form under new management.
Match preview
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Quelling the momentum built by recently appointed coach Marco Giampaolo, Lecce lost their last two fixtures of 2024 - at home to Lazio, then away to relegation rivals Como.
The latter defeat saw their opponents jump above them in the table, and the Salentini sit only two points clear of the drop zone as the season's midpoint approaches.
Lecce had found the net in each of their previous six matches - after producing just four goals from the first 11 - so an attack led by Montenegrin striker Nikola Krstovic will aim to get straight back on track this weekend.
His club's top scorer with four league goals, Krstovic shoulders a heavy burden for the southern side, who average only 0.61 per game in Serie A - by far the worst rate throughout Italy's top flight.
Now, the Giallorossi start a new year with three vital games against fellow strugglers, visiting Empoli and Cagliari after Sunday's contest at Via del Mare.
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Genoa's last trip to Lecce may have ended in defeat, but this time last year they saw off the Salentini on home turf, and they will head south having won four of the clubs' last six meetings.
Furthermore, Patrick Vieira's men put together an impressive sequence of results at the end of 2024, taking them above ailing giants AC Milan, Roma and Juventus in the form table.
In their last game of the year, the Grifone bounced straight back from a loss to title contenders Napoli, beating Empoli 2-1 thanks to goals from Milan Badelj and Caleb Ekuban - plus a crucial spot-kick save by Nicola Leali.
Since arriving in Liguria, Vieira has suffered just one defeat in his first six matches, with Genoa recording three clean sheets and building a six-point buffer to the relegation zone.
Danger still lurks over their shoulder amid a packed bottom half, so the Rossoblu faithful will hope their new boss can keep that momentum rolling into 2025.
Team News
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Marco Giampaolo has Filip Marchwinski back from injury, after the Polish forward resumed full training in midweek, but Mergim Berish, Lameck Banda and Kialonda Gaspar are still sidelined.
As French full-back Frederic Guilbert will be available after serving a suspension, Danish winger Patrick Dorgu may shift forward to a more advanced position on the right.
While Dorgu has scored three Serie A goals this season - one behind Lecce's leading marksman Nikola Krstovic - Genoa's top scorer is Andrea Pinamonti, with six.
Set to start on the bench, Pinamonti's fellow forward Mario Balotelli has recovered from a virus that kept him out of last week's trip to Tuscany, but the visitors are still missing several men.
Caleb Ekuban, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Alan Matturro, Junior Messias and Ruslan Malinovskyi are all unavailable, though that would not stop Patrick Vieira naming a familiar XI, with Stefano Sabelli replacing Norton-Cuffy at right-back.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Jean, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Rafia; Dorgu, Krstovic, Morente
Genoa possible starting lineup:
Leali; Sabelli, Bani, Vasquez, Martin; Frendrup, Badelj; Zanoli, Thorsby, Vitinha; Pinamonti
We say: Lecce 0-0 Genoa
Neither side are renowned for their goalscoring prowess, so it could be a low-scoring - or even no-scoring - contest at Stadio Via del Mare.
While Genoa have a good record on the road, Lecce are much tougher to beat on home turf and can hold out for a valuable point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
