Lecce vs Napoli

Runaway Serie A leaders Napoli head to the Stadio Via del Mare to encounter season-long bottom-half underachievers Lecce in a final rehearsal ahead of their Champions League quarter-final tie against AC Milan.
Lecce succumbed to a narrow 1-0 loss to fellow bottom-half rivals Empoli earlier this week after their clash in Tuscany had to be delayed for an hour due to a small fire in the dressing rooms. That result marked Lecce’s fifth consecutive defeat in Serie A and reignited fears over extending their top-flight status for another season, with 18th-placed Hellas Verona now eight points adrift. What’s even more concerning for head coach Marco Baroni is that his men failed to get on the scoresheet in each of the five abovementioned losses. Indeed, only the bottom-three sides have netted fewer Serie A goals than ‘I Giallorossi’ (24) this term. Back to Via del Mare may not necessarily be a good omen for Lecce, considering they’ve won none of their last five home league games (D2, L3) since a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over second-placed Lazio in early January.
On the other hand, visiting Napoli may be on the verge of breaking a 33-year Scudetto drought after moving 16 points clear at the summit, but they still have to make amends for last weekend’s fiasco. Indeed, without headline performer Victor Osimhen, Luciano Spalletti’s team slumped to a morale-damaging 4-0 home loss to reigning champions Milan. That was their second defeat in four Serie A matches (W2), one more than they suffered in the first 24 league matchdays (W21, D2, L1). However, ‘I Partenopei’ have excelled on the road this season, racking up an eye-catching win ratio of 86% across their 14 Serie A travels thus far (W12, D1, L1), including victories by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ in their last six away league fixtures.

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