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

Lecce travel to Sassuolo in the penultimate gameweek of this year’s Serie A, aware that they could slip into the division’s bottom three if they slip up on Sunday.

The Salentini’s trip to Mapei Stadium was uncertain due to the league’s chaotic scheduling, but a resolution was ultimately reached: 10 fixtures would be held on the same day.

Match preview

Beneficiaries of a run of fixtures that had seen them play cellar-dwelling Pisa, second-bottom Hellas Verona and 15th-placed Fiorentina, Lecce earned five points from a possible nine.

Their only success during that run came against bottom-placed Pisa, but their joy was short-lived after a 1-0 loss to Juventus last time out.

That defeat prevented Eusebio Di Francesco’s men from securing consecutive wins for the first time since February’s victories over Udinese (2-1) and Cagliari (2-0), but even more significantly was Cremonese’s result: a 3-0 defeat of nine-man Pisa.

Last week’s victory for La Cremo, coupled with Lecce’s first league loss in four, leaves Lupi just one point clear of 18th-placed Cremonese ahead of Sunday night’s fixtures.

A defeat for the side from Apulia and Cremonese defeating in-form Udinese would see Di Francesco’s men slip into the bottom three ahead of the final day.

Given Lecce have the head-to-head disadvantage against Cremonese, the Salentini head into this weekend’s round aware of the need to maybe claim one more win to all but secure their top-flight status.

While Sassuolo are favourites to claim a fourth consecutive home win, the mid-table hosts will look to avoid a repeat of two seasons ago, when they lost 3-0 in this fixture.

That campaign ended in the Neroverdi's relegation, but this term’s return to the division has seen them comfortably placed in 11th.

Last season’s Serie B champions have held their own against the top sides in the competition, even continuing their torment of AC Milan, whom they beat 2-0 at the start of May, moving to 49 points.

That success over Massimiliano Allegri’s team brought Fabio Grosso’s troops to the brink of crossing the 50-point mark, only for them then to be beaten 2-1 by Torino last time out.

Facing the fourth-bottom side this weekend presents the Neroverdi with an opportunity to better their tally of points from the ill-fated 2023-24 season (30 points), the year before (45) and 2021-22’s 50-point tally, as they seek a first top-half finish in the league since 2019-20 and 2020-21, when they ended eighth both times.

Sassuolo Serie A form:

Lecce Serie A form:

Team News

Jay Idzes, Daniel Boloca, Edoardo Pieragnolo and Fali Cande are likely absentees because of injury, while Stefano Turati may miss out due to illness.

Domenico Berardi, Andrea Pinamonti and Armand Lauriente have 12, 11 and 15 goal contributions respectively, making the trio the Neroverdi’s leading threats on paper.

Although Pinamonti has not scored or assisted in his last five league appearances — after finding the back of the net in three of the previous five — the hosts can lean on the evergreen Berardi (one goal, one assist) and Lauriente (one goal, two assists), who have contributed in varying capacities beyond scoring a surfeit of goals.

Lecce did not seem to suffer any damage against Juve last time out, but Di Francesco’s men will check Riccardo Sottil, Sadik Fofana, Medon Berisha and Kialonda Gaspar’s conditions before kick-off.

With Berisha’s two goals and three assists likely unavailable, Lameck Banda (four goals, three assists) and Lassana Coulibaly (three goals, one assist) are the away side’s leading threats.

However, with Banda scoring just one in his last appearances, and Coulibaly neither finding the net nor setting up anyone since late February, the away side’s attacking issues are laid bare.

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:

Muric; Coulibaly, Walukiewicz, Muharemovic, Garcia; Kone, Matic, Thorstvedt; Berardi, Pinamonti, Lauriente

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Ndaba, Siebert, Gabriel, Gallo; Ramadani, Ngom; Pierotti, Coulibaly, Banda; Cheddira

We say: Sassuolo 2-1 Lecce

Having won three home games in a row and five of the last six in Reggio Emilia, Sassuolo are backed to extend that run by notching a fourth consecutive victory despite Lecce’s desperation for a positive result against the Neroverdi.

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