Survival and titles at stake as Lecce meet Lazio
Tuesday night sees Serie A action take centre stage with Lecce facing Lazio in a game with a lot riding on it for both teams. Can Lazio keep their slim title hopes alive or will Lecce’s survival hopes get a boost? Have a read of our preview here:
Survival still possible for Lecce
Italy’s southern region is poorly represented in its top-flight and Lecce’s return last season would have made up for the demise of the once-dominant Palermo and the brief spells Crotone and Benevento enjoyed in Serie A.
They have struggled to make an impact this season, as have fellow promoted side, Brescia. However, Lecce do still have hope of staying up even if the home defeat to Sampdoria, containing one of the worst penalty decisions ever seen (look it up, seriously), hit their chances hard.
It is looking increasingly like a fight between Lecce and Genoa to avoid the final relegation place with the two sides facing each other at the Luigi Ferrais on 19 July.
Fabio Liverani did a great job getting his side promoted, but they are on a terrible run, losing each of their last five games while conceding 21 goals in those matches.
It is looking increasingly bleak for the Giallorossi but captain Marco Mancosu and on-loan midfielder Riccardo Saponara are potential game-changers.
It would be good to see southern Italy keep one of its few remaining representatives but a drastic change in form is needed and that does not appear likely.
Title hopes clinging by a thread
Lazio are carrying the hopes of all neutrals following Calcio as they look to prevent Juventus walking to another title.
They have enjoyed a remarkable campaign under Simone Inzaghi, but the Biancocelesti appear to be running out of steam.
Their damaging defeat at Atalanta saw the gap between themselves and Juve stretch to four points and their lack of depth is starting to tell.
Lazio have had to comeback against both Fiorentina and Torino in recent matches to win but they can’t keep conceding the first goal.
Their big stars like Ciro Immobile, Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have been excellent and keep producing and they must not take Lecce lightly.
To catch Juve, who in Cristiano Ronaldo have a player who is paid almost as much as the entire Lazio first-team squad, they must not drop any more points – a feat that will take some doing.
Lecce v Lazio betting tip
A lot is riding on this game but Inzaghi’s men have the quality to put Lecce to the sword. That’s why we are backing Lazio to win at odds of 1.32 with 888sport in this one.
Post bet chat James's Tips:
Lazio's freefall continues as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Lecce, who now have a great chance to stay in Serie A