5 January 2025. 16:00. Lecce. “Via del Mare”
Series A, Day 19
Injuries: Banda, Berisha, Gashpar – Ahanor, Malinovsky, Ekuban, Messias, Norton-Coffie, Matturro
Lecce vs Genoa : Cotes des bookmakers
Lecce
“Lecce” suffered two consecutive defeats at the end of 2024, losing to “Lazio” at home and to “Como” away. The latest defeat saw their opponents overtake the Apulians in the standings, and now the Giallorossi are just two points from the relegation zone. On the 18th matchday, “Lecce” failed to score for the first time in 7 matches, and high hopes rest on the hosts’ star striker Nikola Krstovic ahead of the clash with “Genoa”.
The club has also started its work on the transfer market. Lecce sporting director Pantaleo Corvino has secured the loan of talented attacking midfielder Jesper Karlsson from ‘Bologna’ for a period of six months. At the time of writing this preview, it is unknown if he will be part of the squad for the match against “Genoa”.
Genoa
In their first match of 2025, “Genoa” triumphed away against “Empoli” with a score of 2-1, thus climbing to 13th place in the standings. This result was made possible not only by goals from Badely and Ekuban, but also thanks to a decisive save by goalkeeper Leali, who stopped a penalty from Esposito. This same Esposito that Luciano Spalletti hopes to see soon in the Italian national team.
Since Vieira’s arrival in Liguria, he has suffered only one defeat, and the ‘Grifoni’ have managed to keep three clean sheets. “We haven’t achieved anything yet,” noted the French coach.
In Lecce, the team will be “reinforced” by Mario Balotelli – the striker has recovered from a virus which sidelined him from the trip to Tuscany last week. His return comes at a crucial time as Ekuban will miss the match at ‘Via del Mare’ due to injury.
Lecce vs Genoa : Probables compositions
Lecce vs Genoa: Author’s prediction
Two teams fighting for survival who changed coaches during the season, leading to an improvement in their performances, are about to face each other. This match in Italy is seen through the prism of a duel of attackers – Krstovic against Pinamonti. I’m not sure if either team will score in this matchup, but I believe both teams are more likely to find the net than not to. “Lecce” plays at home, while “Genoa” has generally been more stable lately.
