Preview:Lecce vs. Hellas Verona - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to secure consecutive Serie A victories for the first time since May, Lecce host relegation-threatened Hellas Verona at Stadio Via del Mare, seeking to continue the away team's winless start to the season in Saturday's gameweek 11 fixture.

Verona have drawn five and lost five of their opening 10 matches, an unwanted record for Paolo Zanetti’s team, ahead of this weekend's trip to a ground they were beaten at last season.

Match preview

Having gone three winless games in Serie A, Lecce capitalised on Fiorentina's poor start to the league campaign last weekend, beating the Viola 1-0 in Florence.

That defeat saw the Tuscan giants drop to the bottom of the table, costing Stefano Pioli his job, whereas Lupi moved three points clear of the relegation zone.

With only three points separating Eusebio Di Francesco's team from 18th-placed Genoa, the Wolves remain far from out of the woods before hosting Verona on Saturday, and they aim for another victory in this fixture after winning the corresponding match 1-0 in May.

That victory, however, followed a three-match losing streak at home against Verona in Serie A, highlighting their struggles in previous encounters, which may not bode well for the upcoming fixture.

Maximum points cannot elevate the 15th-placed hosts higher than Cagliari in 14th, due to a four-point gap from 13th, but it could provide much-needed daylight from the bottom three.

Possibly aware of having won three of their previous four visits to Apulia, Verona will hope to repeat their 1-0 victories in September 2019, May 2023 and March 2024.

Such an outcome will please Zanetti, who has seen his team play out five draws and five defeats after 10 rounds this season, with the Mastini netting just six goals overall; only Parma (five) have scored fewer in 2025-26.

Only two of their goals have come away from home, where they have gathered just two points from 15 available, suffering three defeats in five games.

They enter this weekend not only winless in 11 matches across all competitions, but also the team with the joint-worst away record outside the Bentegodi, having let in 10 of their 16 goals on the road, which makes up 62.5% of their total conceded.

These figures highlight the Mastiffs' poor away form, and it remains to be seen if their positive historical record will serve them well in Apulia this weekend as the second-bottom team strive to win a league game for the first time since beating Empoli 2-1 in May.

Lecce Serie A form:

Hellas Verona Serie A form:

Team News

Missing due to injury for the hosts, Gaby Jean (knee), Balthazar Pierret (thigh), and Filip Marchwinski (knee) are sidelined, while Matias Perez Sepulveda could be absent due to illness.

Medon Berisha was the match-winner against Fiorentina last time out, bringing him level with Konan N’Dri on two Serie A goals, and the Lecce man aims to be decisive in consecutive gameweeks.

Verona have a significantly longer absentee list: Mutassim Al-Musrati (thigh), Unai Nunez, Daniel Oyegoke (foot), Suat Serdar (thigh), Tomas Suslov (knee), and Yellu Santiago (muscle) are missing this weekend.

Having assisted three goals already, Giovane scored the equaliser in the eventual 2-1 defeat by Inter Milan in gameweek 10, and the forward hopes to make a difference for the Gialloblu in Apulia.

With Serdar missing due to injury, Gift Orban is likely to carry the goalscoring burden for the away side, aiming to add to his two league goals.

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Veiga, Gaspar, Gabriel, Gallo; Ramadani, Coulibaly; Morente, Berisha, Banda; Stulic

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:

Montipo; Bella-Kotchap, Nelson, Frees; Belghali, Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Bradaric; Giovane, Orban

We say: Lecce 1-0 Hellas Verona

Although the past two results between these teams at the Bentegodi have been draws, a winner has emerged in the last five matches in Apulia across Serie A and Serie B encounters.

That pattern is likely to continue this weekend, with Lecce narrowly edging out a victory over Verona.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.