Preview: Lecce vs. Parma - prediction, team news, lineups

Separated by one place in the Serie A table, Lecce and Parma face off at Stadio Via del Mare on Sunday, with the hosts seeking to leapfrog their Emilian opponents after the 20th round.

Lupi, however, are winless in their last three games, picking up one point, while the visitors have secured four points in the same period ahead of this weekend’s fixture.

Match preview

Lecce slipped to a fifth home defeat of the season on Tuesday, falling to a 2-0 defeat against title outsiders Roma after conceding a goal in each half.

The loss was part of a strange round of Serie A games which saw no home side secure maximum points, but it was especially hurtful for Eusebio Di Francesco’s team, who have now failed to score in consecutive matches on their turf, losing 3-0 to Como in December before this week’s defeat.

Both home disappointments sandwich a creditable 1-1 draw away at Juventus, albeit a fortunate one given Jonathan David’s awful showing for the Old Lady in that fixture.

Nonetheless, such results at least show what Di Francesco’s men can produce when they need to battle, even if the Salentini are held back by their inability to score consistently.

Lupi have netted 12 goals in 19 league matches this season, fewer than bottom-placed Pisa and, interestingly, joint-lowest in the division with Sunday’s opponents.

With only six of those strikes coming in Apulia, it remains to be seen if the hosts leapfrog their Emilian opponents after Sunday’s encounter.

While a negative outcome ideally should be expected, given Parma are winless in the past three meetings with Lecce, the form of both teams heading into this weekend means the victor is far from clear-cut.

Carlos Cuesta’s men, however, enter gameweek 20 in marginally better form than the Apulians, highlighted by securing seven points from their past five league games, three more than Di Francesco’s team.

One of those wins came away at bottom-placed Pisa before the Emilians began 2026 with a 1-1 draw against regional rivals Sassuolo, thereby extending their unbeaten away run in the league.

The recent draw against the Neroverdi followed wins over two struggling sides in Hellas Verona and Pisa, meaning they have only been beaten in one of the last six matches on the road.

Considering that the defeat came against Roma at the Olimpico, Cuesta’s men will back themselves to snap their winless run in this fixture, aiming to improve their one-point advantage over their 16th-placed hosts and create further separation from the bottom three — they lead 18th-placed Fiorentina by five points heading into this weekend.

Lecce Serie A form:

Parma Serie A form:

Parma form (all competitions):

Team News

Lecce did not seem to suffer any fresh injuries against Roma, but they will assess Tete Morente, Medon Berisha and Christian Fruchtl before Sunday’s encounter.

Also absent due to international duty is Lassana Coulibaly, who is featuring for Mali at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the quarter-finalists to face Senegal in a West African derby on Friday.

Only eight players have scored for Lecce this season, of which two — Berisha and Coulibaly — are missing this weekend’s game, putting the responsibility on Lameck Banda (two goals, one assist) and Konan N’Dri (two goals) to be decisive.

Parma, meanwhile, will look to Mateo Pellegrino to add to his five goals and one assist, while Adrian Bernabe has netted two league goals this term, offering a secondary threat for the Emilians.

With Pellegrino scoring 41.7% of the Crusaders’ 12 league goals, two of which have been game-deciding strikes, the visitors’ hopes rest on their leading marksman.

Expected to miss out on Sunday are Matija Frigan, Zion Suzuki, Abdoulaye Ndiaye and Adrian Benedyczak, all of whom are on the treatment table.

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Walcone; Veiga, Gaspar, Gabriel, Gallo; Kaba, Ramadani, Maleh; Pierotti, Stulic, Banda

Parma possible starting lineup:

Corvi; Britschgi, Del Prato, Circati, Valeri; Bernane, Keita, Sorensen; Oristanio, Pellegrino, Ondrejka

We say: Lecce 0-1 Parma

Despite Lecce’s recent favourable results in this fixture, Parma’s superior away form and the reliable goalscoring threat of Pellegrino could be just enough to tip the scales in favour of the Emilians.

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