Juventus – Lecce : Preview & Prediction
It proved to be a deeply disappointing afternoon for Juventus on Sunday, as their 1-1 draw at home to Bologna saw them miss out on the chance to move into the top two in Serie A (SA) following Lazio’s defeat earlier in the day. The “Vecchia Signora” have now failed to win any of their last four SA matches (E1, P3), but the club’s board insisted on Sunday that coach Massimiliano Allegri will not be sacked, instead reiterating that Allegri “returned to Juve for a four-year period, a project of which we are not even halfway through.”
Three of those games they failed to win were away, leaving Juventus hopeful that a return to the Allianz Stadium could help them get back on track, especially as they have only lost one of their last 10 official games at this venue — and that was against league leaders Napoli. That impressive run helped Juve earn SA’s joint-best home record going into this matchday (G11, E3, P2).
Juventus will be hoping to improve that record even further against a Lecce side they have beaten ‘nil’ in each of the last two meetings between them, although Marco Baroni’s side will be looking to make it difficult for them as they arrive on the back of their first league win in nine SA clashes (E1, P7). Buoyed by that 1-0 win over Udinese, Lecce finished last matchday four points clear of the relegation zone and also two points better off at this stage than they were in their last SA campaign in 2019/20.
Lecce will now look for back-to-back league wins for the first time since January, but to achieve that goal they will need to do something they have not done in 376 away minutes – score a goal! Otherwise, they could suffer a fifth consecutive SA away defeat for the first time since losing six away games in the top flight in December 2010.
Players to watch: While Juventus’ Filip Kostić has not registered an assist since a 4-2 win over Sampdoria here in March, he comes into this matchday with the second-highest “expected assists” (xA) total in the division (6.7). His opponent in Lecce’s midfield, Morten Hjulmand, will be one of those trying to keep him quiet, and his record prior to this matchday of committing more fouls (55) than any other SA player suggests he might try to do so by any means he can.
Standout Fact: Ten of Juventus’ last 11 official games have ended with fewer than 2.5 goals in total.
Juventus – Lecce : Betting Tips
Juventus – Win Odds: 1.55
