Preview: Como vs Lecce - prediction, team news, lineups

Chasing down a precious top-four finish - just two years after their return to Serie A - Como will welcome lowly Lecce to Stadio Sinigaglia on Saturday afternoon.

The Lariani did the double over fallen giants Juventus last week, giving their Champions League dreams a shot in the arm, while Lecce's loss sent them into the drop zone.

Match preview

Few fans would have thought it possible just two years ago, but Como completed back-to-back league wins over Juventus last weekend, beating the Bianconeri 2-0 for a second time in one season.

Ending a three-match winless streak, the Lariani scored once in either half to record another famous win over Italy's most successful club.

Juve now sit fifth on 46 points, while Como and Atalanta BC are both right behind on 45, as the race for European places moves towards a thrilling finale.

Since they emerged from Serie B in 2024, Cesc Fabregas and co have made rapid progress, already vying for a top-four finish and contending for the club's first Coppa Italia - a semi-final tie against Inter Milan is yet to come.

While Fabregas has been provided with some impressive attacking talent, that success has been built on a solid defence: only league leaders Inter have recorded more clean sheets than their tally of 13.

However, Como have recently begun to stumble on home soil, winning just one of their last five matches at the Sinigaglia, after claiming maximum points from four of the previous five.

Before they make the long trip north to Lombardy, Lecce have lost all three meetings since Como joined them in Serie A, conceding eight goals and failing to even score.

Beaten 3-0 at the Via del Mare in late December, the Salentini will aim to fare far better on Saturday.

Having boosted their survival hopes with back-to-back wins earlier this month - against Cagliari and Udinese - they put up a brave fight before falling to Inter last time out.

It took the Scudetto favourites 75 minutes to break through, but Eusebio Di Francesco's side then succumbed to a 2-0 home loss, leaving them at risk of slipping into the bottom three.

Fiorentina duly defeated Pisa in a tense Tuscan derby, so Lecce will start this weekend occupying 18th place in the standings, by virtue of an inferior goal difference to both the Viola and free-falling Cremonese.

So, another fierce scrap for salvation awaits, as the Giallorossi seek a club record-extending fifth straight year in Serie A.

Como Serie A form:

W W D L D W

Como form (all competitions):

W D W L D W

Lecce Serie A form:

L D L W W L

Team News

Como's front line has been hit by two new injuries, as in-form Martin Baturina has just been ruled out for three weeks with an ankle sprain, while teenage winger Jayden Addai saw his season ended by an Achilles injury suffered in training.

Assane Diao is still sidelined too, but Fabregas can call upon star man Nico Paz, who missed last week's win due to suspension.

His return is timely, as Paz loves playing Lecce: having opened the scoring in this term's reverse fixture, he has four goal involvements from three games against them.

The Argentina international sometimes features as a false nine, but Tasos Douvikas should beat Alvaro Morata to lead the Lariani's attack.

While the hosts have an abundance of options, no current Lecce player has reached double figures for career goals in Serie A.

Misfiring strikers Walid Cheddira and Nikola Stulic will again vie for selection up front, as Milan loanee Francesco Camarda is still unavailable.

Camarda joins Mergim Berisha and Kialonda Gaspar in the Giallorossi's treatment room, with the latter sustaining a serious knee injury against Inter.

Como possible starting lineup:

Butez; Smolcic, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Vojvoda, Paz, Rodriguez; Douvikas

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Veiga, Gabriel, Siebert, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani; Pierotti, Gandelman, Sottil; Cheddira