Juventus vs Lecce Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Juventus will host Lecce in Serie A on Tuesday night, looking to bounce back from their defeat against Sassuolo last time out.

Juventus are coming into the game against Lecce on the back of a 4-2 defeat against Sassuolo. So, they will be desperate to bounce back strongly when they get ready for their next Serie A assignment.

The Bianconeri are currently fourth in the league table, with three wins from five league matches. Massimiliano Allegri will be under pressure to get his side firing on all cylinders, and it remains to be seen whether Juventus can grind out all three points against Lecce.

Meanwhile, Lecce are third in the standings, and they are unbeaten in the league so far. They will certainly fancy their chances of getting something out of this game, and it remains to be seen whether they can take advantage of Juventus’s vulnerabilities and pull off an upset away from home.

Team News & Tactics

Juventus

The home side will be without the services of Mattia De Sciglio (knee) and Alex Sandro (muscle injury). Paul Pogba has been suspended for breaching doping regulations, and he will be a long-term absentee.

Massimiliano Allegri is likely to shape up his side in a 3-5-2 formation, with Wojciech Szczesny in goal. In the back three, Federico Gatti is expected to start alongside Gleison Bremer and Danilo.

Weston McKennie and Filip Kostic will be the wing-backs here, and they will look to help out defensively and add creativity from the wide areas. The former, in particular, has found a new lease of life at Juventus and will look to make his mark again.

Nicolo Fagioli is set to start in the middle of the park alongside Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot. Locatelli and Rabiot will add defensive cover and drive to the side. Dusan Vlahovic will lead the line alongside Federico Chiesa. Chiesa is likely to drop down and link up with the midfield, while Vlahovic is likely to act as the target man.

Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Chiesa

Lecce

The visitors will be without the services of Kastriot Dermaku and Lameck Banda, with the duo recovering from hamstring injuries. Lecce are likely to shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Wladimir Falcone in goal.

Valentin Gendrey and Antonio Gallo will start as the full-backs, and they will look to contain the Juventus attackers and protect the central defenders. Ahmed Touba and Marin Pongracic will form the central defensive partnership.

Hamza Rafia, Ylber Ramadani and Mohamed Kaba will start in the central midfield, and the three players will look to protect the central defence and break up the opposition attacks.

Nikola Krstovic will lead the line for Lecce, with Gabriel Strefezza and Pontus Almqvist on either side of him. The two wide players will look to create counter-attacking opportunities and hit Juventus on the break.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Touba, Pongracic, Gallo; Rafia, Ramadani, Kaba; Strefezza, Krstovic, Almqvist

Key Stats

• Juventus have scored at least two goals in nine of their last ten home matches against Lecce in all competitions.
• Juventus have won their last three matches against Lecce in all competitions.
• Lecce are unbeaten in the last five matches in the league.
• 13 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two sides.
• Lecce have kept a clean sheet in three of their last six matches across all competitions.

Player to Watch

Federico Chiesa

The 25-year-old Italian international is our key man to watch out for. Chiesa has been in impressive form this season, and he managed to get on the scoresheet in the defeat to Sassuolo as well.

He will look to help create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates and trouble the opposition defence with his pace and creativity. The Juventus attacker has four goals in five league matches this season, and he will look to add to his tally tomorrow.

Prediction

Juventus 2-1 Lecce

On current form, the two teams are quite evenly matched, and this is likely to be an enthralling affair. Lecce will look to pull off a morale-boosting result away from home, and Juventus cannot afford to take them lightly.

The home side are undoubtedly the better team on paper, but they will have to be at their best in order to grind out all three points. This is likely to be a close match-up but Juventus have enough attacking quality at their disposal to edge the contest eventually. A narrow 2-1 win for the home side is on the cards.