Juventus will look to move above Inter Milan at the top of Serie A table when they make the trip to Via del Mare to face mid-table Lecce on Sunday night.
After a calamitous campaign on all fronts last season, Juventus are looking like genuine title contenders, and the Old Lady’s run of 12 wins and three draws from the past 15 Serie A games has put them within touching distance of the summit ahead of the game against Lecce.
They have now enjoyed six consecutive victories across all competitions, reaching the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia in that run, while Dusan Vlahovic continued his fine form with a stunning brace that fired Juve to a relatively comfortable 3-0 win against Sassuolo on Tuesday night.
The Bianconeri can leapfrog Inter Milan at the top of Serie A with a win over mid-table Lecce on Sunday. But the trip to Via del Mare has the potential to cause the Old Lady a fair few issues.
Following a successful first season back in Italy’s top flight last term, Lecce lost their manager, Marco Baroni, to Hellas Verona and replaced him with former Benevento head coach Roberto D’Aversa. They began the season playing in a usually dynamic and forward-thinking manner. But they have subsequently dropped to the bottom half of the standings.
In a difficult stretch of four games over the festive period, I Giallorossi lost back-to-back road games against Inter Milan and Atalanta without scoring before being held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly Cagliari. However, Roberto D’Aversa’s men put on a valiant show at the Olimpico last weekend when they gave Lazio a real scare in a narrow 1-0 defeat.
Team News & Tactics
Lecce
Kastriot Dermaku (knee) is out injured for Lecce this weekend. Hamza Rafia, Ahmed Touba, and Lameck Banda are unavailable as they are away at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Valentin Gendrey is fit to start this week after being forced off injured against Lazio last time out.
Nicola Sansone has recently been sidelined by a calf problem but could return to the fold this week, as head coach Roberto D’Aversa looks set to stick with the majority of the starting side that put up a decent fight at Stadio Olimpico.
That means Italian shot-stopper Wladimiro Falcone will remain in between the sticks for Lecce, with protection arriving from the back-four of Valentin Gendrey, Marin Pongracic, Federico Baschirotto, and Antonino Gallo.
Joan Gonzalez, Ylber Ramadani, and Mohamed Kaba should keep their midfield spots. Nikola Krstovic will spearhead the Salento side’s attack, while wingers Remi Oudin and Pontus Almqvist will look to find the balance between foraying forward and supporting his full-back.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Kaba, Ramadani, Gonzalez; Oudin, Krstovic, Almqvist
Juventus
Juventus remain without the suspended Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba, while Mattia De Sciglio is unavailable due to injury, with Moise Kean also a major doubt. Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie are back from their suspensions and will feature in the starting lineup as Massimiliano Allegri looks to freshen things up after the midweek game.
Dusan Vlahovic was the main catalyst in Juve’s rampant victory over Sassuolo. He opened the scoring with a lovely strike from the edge of the box before tormenting Andrea Consigli with an unstoppable free-kick for his second.
Federico Chiesa also added a third goal in the dying minutes of the same game. But Turkish teenage sensation’s Kenan Yildiz’s dazzling form may keep the Italian winger on the bench for this game at least.
Wojciech Szczesny will start in goal as ever, while there are unlikely to be any changes in defence. Gleison Bremer will start at the heart of the back three, while Daniele Rugani and Danilo should continue to be part of the rearguard.
Filip Kostic is a mainstay on the left flank, with Andrea Cambiaso likely to keep his place on the opposite flank as well. The onus will be on the midfield trio of Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, and Fabio Miretti to provide the creative impetus and forward thrust from the middle of the park, as well as protect the back four on the defensive end.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Rugani, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Yildiz
Key Stats
- Juventus are undefeated in their last 15 Serie A matches.
- Juventus have won their last four matches against Lecce in all competitions.
- The Bianconeri have won eight of their last nine games across all competitions.
- Dusan Vlahovic has scored four goals in his last four league games.
- Lecce have scored just one goal in their last four games against Juve.
Player to Watch
Dusan Vlahovic
The Serbian hitman has regained his best form in recent weeks, notably bagging a fine brace to contribute to Juventus’s victory over Sassuolo in their last game. Despite Vlahovic’s initial struggles to replicate his goalscoring prowess from his time at Fiorentina, he has become a key player for the Bianconeri after the club tried to sell him last summer without any takers.
Vlahovic’s resurgence in finding the net consistently could dissuade Juventus from considering his sale again this winter. As they look to reclaim the Scudetto, his goals could prove crucial to their hopes this season.
Prediction
Lecce 0-1 Juventus
Although Lecce are in a bit of a slump of late, picking up just a point in their last four matches, three of those games were against top-six opponents. Returning to Stadio Ettore Giardiniero, where they have only lost twice this season, could give them enough of a boost to stay competitive against the Turin giants.
Juventus have been ruthlessly efficient on the road, edging past their opposition by a solitary goal in five of their last six away assignments. And that trend is likely to continue this week, as The Hard Tackle predicts yet another slender but comfortable for the Bianconeri this Sunday.
