Juventus may have lost the Coppa Italia final to Napoli but Maurizio Sarri’s team remain the top side in Serie A. The Bianconeri are now four points ahead of second-placed Lazio who lost ground on Wednesday night with a 3-2 loss to Atalanta.
Sarri’s team could move as many as seven points above Lazio with a win at home versus Lecce on Friday night. Juventus will hope to continue their good form from the restart that saw them defeat Bologna 2-0 last weekend.
Lecce sit 18th in Serie A and are in a relegation fight that sees them in the bottom three due to their record versus 17th-place Genoa. Serie A’s relegation fight doesn’t come down to overall goal difference rather it is head to head record against teams that finish on the same number of points.
Due to the way in which relegation can be determined, Lecce have no need to put out their best squad against a strong Juventus when it is more important to play well against the teams around them in the table.
Juventus have not lost at home this season and it is unlikely Lecce will hand them a first defeat. The team’s defence has allowed just 10 goals against which is tied for the fewest in the division.
Lecce may be in the relegation places but they have been decent on the road in 2019-20. Although they have scored just 15 goals, Lecce have posted a 4W-2D-7L record on their travels.
Although Lecce have little chance of claiming a win against Juventus on paper, they did gain a 1-1 draw earlier this season at home. After a scoreless first half, both clubs found the back of the net in the second 45 minutes.
Paulo Dybala’s 50th-minute penalty gave Juventus the lead but Lecce’s Marco Mancosu found the back of the net six minutes later also from the spot. If Lecce can take points from Juventus, it will open up the title race once more for Lazio.
Sarri has a long list of injured or suspended players at the Allianz Arena. Full-back Danilo will miss the fixture due to a suspension after being sent off against Bologna.
Defenders Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sando, Merih Demiral, and Giorgio Chiellini will all miss the game through injury. Gonzalo Higuain and Sami Khedira will also miss out. Lecce are likely to be without striker Gianluca Lapadula.
Although Lecce took points off of Juventus last time around, the Bianconeri will be too hot to handle. Friday’s match should see over 2.5 goals with Juventus winning and extending their Serie A lead.