Genoa vs Lecce prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-01-27 11:30.
Genoa’s dream return to Serie A continues to go from strength to strength after a 2-1 victory over Salernitana extended their unbeaten run to six matches (W2, D4). The Griffin find themselves equidistant to the top-six and the bottom-three pre-round, leaving boss Alberto Gilardino describing his players as “monumental” as he pleads for reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Gilardino will hope his wish is granted by the board as a first top-half finish in Serie A since 2014/15 is within their grasp, with Genoa starting the round in 11th. That’s despite the fact that they’ve managed just three wins on home soil (D5, L2), and as they’ve failed to win six of their ten matches against bottom-half opposition this term (D2, L4), the visit of Lecce looks far from straightforward.
Lecce can account for one of those four defeats, running out 1-0 winners in September’s reverse fixture – the Giallorossi’s only victory in the last 12 H2Hs (D3, L8)! They will be hoping to rekindle the form of earlier in the season insead, as they attempt to end a horrible run of five games without a win (D1, L4) that’s seen them score just one goal.
Such a sequence of results has piled the pressure on manager Roberto D'Aversa, who admitted his players were lacking in self-belief after their 3-0 defeat to Juventus last time out. He may hand a full debut to new signing Santiago Pierotti, a recent arrival from Argentine club ColĂłn, as Lecce attempt to stave off any relegation fears, with the gap between themselves and the bottom-three shrinking to just four points ahead of this round.
Key battle: Albert Guðmundsson has netted first or last in seven of his last nine goalscoring appearances for Genoa. Attempting to get the better of him may be Lecce striker Nikola Krstović, who has only lost one of the last 27 games in which he has scored (W20, D6).
Hot stat: Lecce have only scored five first half goals in Serie A this season, a joint-league low.