Two sides scrapping for Serie A survival meet at Stadio Via del Mare in Sunday's lunchtime kickoff, as Lecce host Hellas Verona.
Leading their visitors by just two points in the standings, the Giallorossi cannot afford to go five games without a win.
Match preview
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Owing to a little bit of luck, Lecce left Frosinone with a point last weekend, as their quest to secure another season in Italy's top flight continued.
After Nikola Krstovic drew a foul from home goalkeeper Michele Cerofolini, Hamza Rafia saw his penalty saved; however, it then had to be retaken when the VAR spotted some encroachment from Frosinone's defenders. Second time around, Krstovic stepped up and struck the post, but the ball finally bounced in off Cerofolini's shoulder.
A 1-1 draw against their fellow strugglers left Lecce still without a single away win, and with just two points separating them from the bottom three, head coach Roberto D'Aversa will be acutely aware that demotion remains a major threat.
The Salentini have failed to find the net in seven of their last 11 league matches, managing only one victory, and they join Verona as one of several teams hoping to avoid filling two places above rock-bottom Salernitana in Serie A's drop zone.
Having also have conceded at least once in 22 consecutive games - setting an unwanted club record in that regard - there are clearly problems to resolve at both ends of the pitch.
Even recent history does not suggest the Giallorossi can prevail this week, as they have failed to even score in four of their last five league games against Verona, from which they took just a single point.
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Following a 2-2 draw in this season's reverse fixture, Verona are actually unbeaten in eight top-flight meetings with Sunday's hosts, posting five wins during that sequence.
However, Hellas are also deep in danger at the wrong end of the standings, with only a rare success last week keeping them above the dreaded dotted line.
Heading into their crucial contest against free-falling Sassuolo, the Gialloblu had won just once in 2024, and they rode their luck at times, before Karol Swiderski's first strike since signing in January decided a relegation six-pointer in their favour.
Averaging less than one goal per game, Verona have still scored even fewer than Lecce so far this season, and coach Marco Baroni has not had a consistent striker to rely upon.
Perhaps for that reason, only once since February 2022 have Hellas been able to record successive league victories - doing so in their first two fixtures this term - but that will be Baroni's target when he returns to his former club.
Team News
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Lecce's midfield options have been narrowed by an ACL injury to Mohamed Kaba, who now faces several months on the sidelines, so Joan Gonzalez and Alexis Blin will vie to replace the unfortunate Frenchman this weekend.
Centre-back Kastriot Dermaku is also ruled out by a serious knee injury, but coach Roberto D'Aversa should have an otherwise full squad available.
Roberto Piccoli and five-goal top scorer Nikola Krstovic will fight it out to start up front for the hosts, while Verona boss Marco Baroni may select Polish forward Karol Swiderski from the start, following his late winner against Sassuolo.
Midfield mainstay Michael Folorunsho - who has been directly involved in half of the Gialloblu's last six league goals but was taken ill last week - should be back at Baroni's disposal on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Giangiacomo Magnani is set to replace Pawel Dawidowicz in the visitors' back four - the latter must serve a suspension for accumulated bookings.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Rafia, Ramadani, Oudin; Almqvist, Krstovic, Banda
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Cabal; Duda, Serdar; Noslin, Folorunsho, Suslov; Swiderski
We say: Lecce 1-0 Hellas Verona
Neither side is prolific, but Lecce are far harder to beat at Via del Mare, where they have picked up the bulk of their points this season. Verona can barely buy a goal on the road, and they may suffer an 11th away loss of the season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
