As their quest for Serie A Champions League football continues, Atalanta BC will be hoping to put their loss to league-leading Napoli behind them when they travel to face an underperforming Lecce on Wednesday night.
While Lecce hasn’t won since the middle of September and appears headed for relegation as they try to avoid an immediate return to Serie B, Gian Piero Gasperini’s team has struggled recently against their rivals at the top of the league standings.
Lecce, a club that hasn’t spent consecutive seasons in Serie A since the early 2010s, is struggling to survive among some of the best teams in the world football, much like so many other teams that make the jump up to Italy’s top division.
Lecce’s ability to accumulate the most points from games has severely hampered their ability to advance up the standings, with Marco Baroni’s team only managing one victory to date in the league despite being relatively difficult to beat.
The only reason Wednesday’s opponents are above the relegation zone in Serie A is because of that lone victory over Salernitana in September. There are only three points separating them from newly promoted Cremonese, who are currently in 18th.
Lecce’s midweek game against La Dea is their last home game before the World Cup suspends league play until next year. Baroni’s team has yet to win at home, but they have been a difficult team to beat at Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, losing just twice in six home games this season.
The Giallorossi’s struggles this season can be largely attributed to their lack of offensive firepower; Sampdoria, the bottom-dwelling team, and every other club in the division have all scored more goals than the Giallorossi’s 10 goals in their first 13 games.
The last time Atalanta visited Lecce, the two teams played out a thrilling nine-goal thriller in March 2020. However, a repeat of that 7-2 loss for Lecce on Wednesday night would be the last thing Baroni’s relegation-threatened team needs.
Atalanta are firmly back in the hunt for Champions League qualification this year in what appears to be a highly competitive race for those top-four spots in Serie A after finishing eighth last season and missing out on any type of European competition.
Gasperini’s team has accumulated an impressive 27 points from its first 13 games this season, placing them fourth in Italy’s top division. However, La Dea are currently eight points behind the Serie A leaders due to Napoli’s undefeated start to the season.
The Bergamo-based team has been a standout on the road thus far this season, winning five of their six away games and drawing once. Only Napoli has accumulated more away points at this point of the season, with 19.
No team has a better road defence than Atalanta, who have only allowed two goals in six games, both of which came in a 2-2 draw with Udinese at the Dacia Arena at the beginning of October.
Ademola Lookman, a former player for Everton, has emerged as Atalanta’s top scorer this season. The 25-year-old has six goals in 13 games since making the permanent switch from German club RB Leipzig during the summer transfer window.
Lecce Team News
Samuel Umtiti, a defender for Lecce, is most likely out of the match against Atalanta on Wednesday night due to a back injury he sustained at Udinese early in the second half. The 20-year-old forward Lorenzo Colombo should receive another start alongside leading scorer Gabriel Strefezza and Zambian Lameck Banda in a front three after scoring his second goal of the year to open the scoring for Baroni’s team last time out.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Dermaku, Gallo; Blin, Hjulmand, Gonzalez; Strefezza, Banda, Lorenzo Colombo
Atalanta Team News
Due to a muscle injury that has prevented Davide Zappacosta from playing for Atalanta since a 2-0 away victory against Monza back in September, Atalanta will continue to be without his services. Joakim Maehle will therefore play left wing-back. Due to a tendon injury, Luis Muriel, 31, is also out for Gasperini’s team; however, the 31-year-old is anticipated to be healthy when Serie A play resumes in January after the World Cup.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Toloi, Demiral, Scalvini; Hateboer, Koopmeiners, Ederson, Maehle, Mario Pasalic; Lookman, Hojlund
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