Lecce vs Juventus

Stagnant champions Juventus are set to renew their title mission in the Sunday evening’s Serie A fixture as they are due to Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare.

Midweek draw also helped and Juve are one of three teams that have not been beaten in the season in Europe’s top five leagues.

Ensuring that the Turin giants will be in contention at least for a playoff place in the Champions League, Juventus emerged unscathed from Birmingham Wednesday evening with a valuable point after a goalless draw with Aston Villa.

Their hosts hit the woodwork from a free kick and had a goal from a set-piece disallowed by the VAR in the final minutes, while Juve barely threatened but for a spark from Francisco Conceicao who was smartly saved by Martinez at his hour of post.

Of their past 16 trips across the Channel they have triumphed only three times; of the eight Champions’ League away fixtures they have won only once – and that was with 10 men against RB Leipzig earlier this season; and yet, with three games remaining they are only two points away from a top eight place.

That result continued a trend, as last week's grim goalless meeting with AC Milan means that another stalemate this weekend would set a new club record for most Serie A draws in a calendar year: they have it at 17 in 2024 which equalled a feat set 68 years ago.

They are the only team left in the Serie A without a defeat this term and have taken a single point nine times Throughout all the competitions, and while arrayed in their orange strips, Thiago Motta’s charges have conceded a paltry seven goals while keeping a record nine clean sheets.

For a team that is just two points above the Serie A drop zone, any result from this week's match will be advantageous.

Lecce made a managerial change during the most recent international break, hiring Marco Giampaolo, a seasoned coach, to become just the third person to lead ten different teams in Italy's top division.

Earlier this week, the Salentini saw instant results in Venice, where they not only scored their first away goal of the season but also won for the first time outside of Salento.

Giampaolo may now become the only coach in Lecce history to win both of his first two Serie A games after defeating Venezia at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo thanks to a goal from Danish winger Patrick Dorgu in the 70th minute.

However, a pitiful six goals in 13 games indicates that the Giallorossi would struggle to overcome Juventus' formidable defense on Sunday night.

Due to injuries that have plagued Juventus in recent weeks, Thiago Motta sent a roster of just 17 players to Villa Park, including three goalkeepers.

Francisco Conceicao, Teun Koopmeiners, and Kenan Yildiz might all assist the visitors' lone striker because there isn't much space for rotation. By the way, Yildiz and Patrick Dorgu of Lecce are the two youngest players in Serie A to score three goals or more this season.

In Banda's absence, Santiago Pierotti and Ante Rebic are vying for a spot in the final third with Dorgu and Nikola Krstovic. Rebic, a former Milan forward, has contributed directly to four Serie A goals against Juventus so far, averaging one goal every 60 minutes.