Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Serie A clash between Lecce and Juventus, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
With their main title rivals away in Saudi Arabia, Juventus can go top of Serie A on Sunday, when they meet Lecce at Stadio Via del Mare.
Six wins on the spin have put Juve into the Coppa Italia semi-finals and within touching distance of first place in the league, while their hosts still seek a first success of 2024.
Match preview
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After a stoppage-time strike from Dusan Vlahovic clinched victory down at Salernitana’s Stadio Arechi, and an Arkadiusz Milik hat-trick kept Juventus on course for a possible domestic double in the cup quarter-finals, last week they took another step closer to silverware by beating Sassuolo.
Vlahovic has finally found his shooting boots, and the Serbian striker’s brilliant brace – both scored from outside the box – helped see off the Neroverdi in Turin, where Juve have not lost a single fixture so far this season.
Unbeaten in their last 15 league matches, winning no less than 12, the Bianconeri are within one game of matching their best such streak since the return of Max Allegri – a run of 16 between November 2021 and March 2022.
There is no doubt that Juventus are Inter Milan’s chief challengers for this season’s Scudetto, and with Inter away defending the Supercoppa Italiana, victory at Via del Mare would take Allegri’s men one point above their old foes at the top.
Two rounds remain before a crucial Derby d’Italia between the two rivals unfolds at San Siro, so Juve must make a relatively straightforward schedule work in their favour: they will host struggling Empoli next weekend, six days after tackling Lecce.
A 1-0 win in September’s reverse fixture came courtesy of Milik’s lone strike at the Allianz Stadium, and doing the double would continue the Bianconeri’s long dominance over their southern counterparts.
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Lecce have won only one of their last 15 matches against Juventus in Serie A, losing on 11 occasions – including each of the last four, with an aggregate score of 8-1 in Juve’s favour.
While their illustrious visitors are building up towards a battle for the Italian title, the Giallorossi’s main aim this term is to secure top-flight survival for a second year running.
They may have to prolong their commendable home record in order to stay afloat this time around, as following last week’s 1-0 loss to Lazio in Rome, Lecce are one of three teams still without a single away win, along with promoted pair Cagliari and Frosinone.
Roberto D’Aversa has seen his side defeated just twice at Via del Mare, though, and they are on an unbeaten run of four league matches there, stretching back to their Coppa Italia exit at the start of November.
Next week’s trip to Genoa may prove more important, in terms of both beating a direct rival and ending their long victory drought on the road, but the pressure is off the Salentini’s shoulders against resurgent Juve this weekend.
Lecce Serie A form:
Juventus Serie A form:
Juventus form (all competitions):
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Team News
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Despite Juventus winning comfortably last time out, Max Allegri may make a handful of changes to his starting XI on Sunday evening, as Weston McKennie and Federico Gatti both return from suspension and could be named in the visitors’ lineup.
Federico Chiesa is also pushing hard for selection ahead of Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz – the Italy international completed his return from injury by scoring Juve’s third goal against Sassuolo after coming off the bench.
Set to hold off the challenge of Arkadiusz Milik to spearhead the Bianconeri’s attack, Dusan Vlahovic could score in three successive away games for the first time in his Serie A career. Having started this season slowly, the in-form striker has now netted nine league goals – just one shy of last term’s overall total.
Adrien Rabiot and Mattia De Sciglio miss out through injury, while Moise Kean is still carrying a knock and could soon be about to depart Turin for a fresh start elsewhere.
Lecce, meanwhile, will be without Hamza Rafia, Ahmed Touba and Lameck Banda, all of whom are away in Ivory Coast, at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nicola Sansone has recently been sidelined by a calf problem but could be back on the bench this week, as Roberto D’Aversa keeps faith with most of the starting side that was beaten at Stadio Olimpico.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Gonzalez, Ramadani, Kaba; Oudin, Krstovic, Almqvist
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Miretti, Kostic; Vlahovic, Chiesa
We say: Lecce 0-2 Juventus
Momentum is gathering behind Juve’s title push, and they can take advantage of Inter’s absence by racking up a seventh straight victory. Juve’s front line is suddenly bursting with confidence, while they remain rock-solid at the back; Lecce surely cannot keep them at bay for 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data
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