Lecce-Salernitana is a Serie A Week 20 match to be played on Friday at 20:45: odds, predictions, TV and streaming
Lecce, who in the previous three days had come from behind and beaten Lazio and came close to a historic success against AC Milan a week ago, saw their positive streak interrupted when they lost at home to third-last-placed Verona. A clear defeat (2-0) and rather incomprehensible that of Marco Baroni’s men, who probably relaxed a little too much after the superb performances against the two big names in front of their own public.
A drop that can perhaps be explained by the lower motivation compared to the Scaligeri, who were forced to win to prevent the gap from the salvation zone widening further. The league table hasn’t actually changed that much, especially for the Salentini. Who continue to boast a reassuring margin over the relegation zone. At the end of the first half of the season, Lecce have an eight-point lead over the third-last position, but they can’t possibly think of pulling the reins in the boat any sooner than expected, considering that there is a whole round to play. Baroni and his men will be looking to exploit the home factor once again to get back on the road to safety: the Giallorossi have only lost to Inter and Juventus in front of their own fans, as well as drawing five times.
Salernitana haven’t won since October
On matchday 20, Salerno host another team from the south, Salernitana, who won their first league game of the season in the first leg, breaking a long drought: Strefezza scored the decisive goal to give the newly-promoted side a 1-2 victory at the Arechi.
Daniliuc
The Campania side are just two points behind Lecce, +6 over the red zone, but the predictable defeat in the regional derby against Napoli has postponed the appointment with the three points, which they have been missing since 30 October. In the last seven rounds the granata have only brought home two points. Against the Azzurri (0-2), another goleada along the lines of the one in Bergamo was avoided – which had caused the dismissal of Davide Nicola, who was then immediately recalled – but Salernitana need to get back on the map. A direct clash, in short, that Ochoa and his team-mates cannot afford to fail.
Lecce-Salernitana: latest line-up info
Umtiti went off injured in Verona, but fortunately for Baroni it is nothing serious and the former Barcelona defender will be a starter. Defensive outfielder Gendrey will also be reinstated. Baroni is inclined to confirm the midfield formed by Gonzalez, Hjulmand and Blin, with Maleh ready to come on from the bench. In the attacking trident, Banda may take the place of Di Francesco, who has not looked his best after a thigh strain.
On the other side, Nicola plans to immediately debut former Udinese player Troost-Ekong, who has just arrived from England. The Nigerian will deploy between Lovato and Daniliuc in the middle of defence. In midfield Nicolussi Caviglia will be back after his good performance against Napoli, while up front the Piedmont coach will continue to put his faith in the Dia-Piatek duo.
The Prediction
Two teams that at the moment seem to be taking no risks but at the same time cannot relax just yet. And a defeat could have serious repercussions on the morale of both. Lecce have only lost twice at home and appear slight favourites according to the bookmakers, but we also assume a reaction from Salernitana after the two defeats to Atalanta and Napoli and the Nicola affair. As in the first leg, we are likely to see a prolific evening, with at least one goal on either side.
Lecce v Salernitana likely line-ups
- LECCE (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Umtiti, Pezzella; Gonzalez, Hjulmand, Blin; Strefezza, Colombo, Banda.
- SALERNITANA (3-5-2): Ochoa; Lovato, Troost-Ekong, Daniliuc; Candreva, Coulibaly, Nicolussi Caviglia, Vilhena, Bradaric; Dia, Piatek.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
