Lecce seek their first victory in five Serie A games when they welcome off-form Torino to the Stadio Via del Mare in Saturday's round 10 action.
The southern Italy side are four places ahead of the visiting club, incapable of leapfrogging them regardless of this weekend's outcome.
Match preview
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Lecce escaped with a point in Udine despite facing a barrage of attacks from the winless club after half time.
Roberto D'Aversa's team fell behind to Florian Thauvin's 49th-minute penalty, appearing set to lose their third game in Serie A this season before Roberto Piccoli levelled with seven minutes of the 90 left to play.
While the 1-1 draw extends Lecce's winless run to four games, the flow of Monday's game means round nine's result was a point gained rather than two lost.
The Wolves have claimed three victories in five home games, giving them reason for optimism to return to winning ways, even if picking up one point from six quenches that excitement.
A win against Torino could take mid-table Lecce as high as sixth, but that requires several results going their way.
As for the away side, an admirable hour against Inter Milan promised much but ultimately disappointed as the Nerazzurri claimed a 3-0 triumph.
Goals from Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu in the game's final 30 minutes extended Torino's winless streak to five games (three defeats), a run Ivan Juric seeks solutions to.
Noteworthy has been the inability to score in four consecutive games, with Duvan Zapata's 85th-minute equaliser against Roma in late September the last time Juric's men found the back of the net.
Torino scoring or otherwise could be the difference between a positive or negative result against a side they defeated both home and away last season — 1-0 and 2-0.
That positive head-to-head could motivate Juric's side, although Lecce will back themselves to get the better of their toothless opponents, who have won the last three meetings between both clubs.
Team News
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Kastriot Dermaku and Alexis Blin are not expected to feature for Lecce, with the latter expected back in November.
Nikola Krstovic has netted one goal in his last five appearances for the home side, who need the four-goal man scoring again to secure a positive result.
The ACL injury suffered by Perr Schuurs against Inter Milan could keep the centre-back out until the final weeks of the 2023-24 season.
Koffi Djidji and Brandon Soppy are also missing for Juric's men, while Yann Karamoh, Alessandro Buongiorno and Zapata are doubtful for Saturday's game.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Kaba, Ramadani, Oudin; Almqvist, Krstovic, Strefezza
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Tameze, Sazonov, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Vlasic, Ricci, Lazaro; Seck, Linetty; Pellegri
We say: Lecce 1-1 Torino
While Torino's four-game run without a goal could end at Lecce, the spoils may be shared with both sides cancelling each other out.
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