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

sportsmole.co.uk, 1 March 2024, 15:09
One point and two places in the Serie A table separate Frosinone and Lecce heading into Sunday's encounter at the Stadio Benito Stirpe.

The last time either side won a league game came at the start of February — the away side's 3-2 win over Fiorentina, underscoring both teams' struggles.

Match preview

Frosinone are in relegation form, but Eusebio Di Francesco is keen to turn the tide in the coming weeks to prevent the Canaries from slipping into the bottom three.

Only three points separate the 16th-placed hosts from Sassuolo in 18th, with four losses on the trot emphasising how desperate the situation is with the Ciociari.

Di Francesco's men have secured just four points from an available 24, which came in back-to-back weekends when they beat Cagliari and Hellas Verona.

Those results have not proved to be the fillip for Frosinone, as four points from six have been followed by four straight losses against AC Milan, Fiorentina, Roma and Juventus.

Having already recorded five straight losses this term — between mid-December 2023 and mid-January 2024 — the home side are keen to avoid another reverse in front of their supporters.

While Lecce are inclined to push for more misery on Frosinone, the away side's lack of goals are a worry for a team battling for their lives in the top flight.

Since scoring three times in the success over Fiorentina on February 2, Roberto D'Aversa's team have failed to score in defeats by Bologna (4-0), Torino (2-0) and Inter Milan (4-0).

Only Salernitana (20), Empoli (22) and Hellas Verona (23) have scored fewer goals than Lecce, highlighting the goalscoring bugbear faced by the Giallorossi.

However, Lecce have dominated their head-to-head with Frosinone, winning three of the last four meetings across Serie A, Serie B and Serie C and suffering one loss in their recent eight clashes against this weekend's opponent.

That could be D'Aversa's message to his players on Sunday as Lupi hope to halt the disappointing results that leave them sliding towards the bottom three.

Frosinone Serie A form:

W

D

L

L

L

L

Lecce Serie A form:

L

L

W

L

L

L

Team News

Matias Soule is Frosinone's undoubted threat, with only Leroy Sane (84) completing more dribbles than Soule's 75 in Europe's top-five leagues, and the 20-year-old hopes to add to his 10 league goals on Sunday.

Mateus Lusuardi, Kevin Bonifazi, Anthony Oyono, Riccardo Marchizza and Sergio Kalaj are injured and expected to miss this weekend's game.

As for Lecce, Kastriot Dermaku's return from a knee injury is touch-and-go, but Federico Brancolini is not anticipated to return from a similar issue until next month.

Nikola Krstovic's five goals may outdo Lameck Banda's two, but the Zambian forward leads the way for goal contributions (six) for Lupi, possibly making him the team's go-to guy in the attack.

Frosinone possible starting lineup:

Cerofolini; Lirola, Okoli, Romagnoli, Valeri; Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Brescianini; Soule, Cheddira, Harroui

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Rafia, Ramadani, Oudin; Almqvist, Krstovic, Banda

We say: Frosinone 1-0 Lecce

Frosinone have lost four of their last five on home turf, but Lecce are winless on their travels this season, losing eight of 13 road matches, thus making Sunday's game tricky to predict.

However, the home side's six wins from 13 games at Stadio Benito Stirpe mean they have a higher chance of winning than Lecce of claiming maximum points.

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