Bologna vs Lecce prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-10-22 13:00.
Only a point separates Serie A (SA) strugglers Bologna (seven) and Lecce (eight) with both sides dangling perilously above the bottom three as they prepare for an early relegation six-pointer. Bologna missed the chance to put daylight between themselves and the drop zone last weekend, failing to make their lead count against league leaders Napoli in an eventual 3-2 defeat. Boss Thiago Motta felt “the referee did not play a good game” but three losses across the last four league games (D1) means there’s perhaps more to fix than just poor officiating.
Bologna might see the light at the end of the tunnel here, as they have picked up six of their seven SA points at home this term and hold a vastly superior top-flight H2H home record against their visitors (W8, D4, L1). The hosts will need to be careful about dropping further points from winning positions though, having done so in their three SA home draws this campaign, which all ended 1-1 on the day.
Lecce arrive at the Renato Dall'Ara stadium off the back of their own 1-1 draw against Fiorentina, in which they also failed to make the most of a leading position. While a repeat scoreline might not surprise, considering five of Lecce’s last eight games (W1, L2) ended 1-1, the four draws prior to that Fiorentina stalemate saw the visitors claw back an initial deficit which could spell more danger for a Bologna side prone to letting leads slip on home turf.
It’s victories that matter for Lecce now though and with three successive contests against current top-eight sides up next, this trip is perhaps crucial to the story of their SA campaign. With maximum points in mind, Lecce manager Marco Baroni will likely look for a fast start from his side, particularly after the team who netted the match opener went on to win four of their last five road trips.
Players to watch: Bologna’s Musa Barrow has two strikes from his last three league games, and contributed two goal involvements (G1, A1) in a 3-2 home H2H win in July 2020. Lecce will look to forward Assan Ceesay, who has a tendency to burst into life either side of half-time with his three SA goals arriving between the 41st-50th minute.
Hot stat: After ten SA matches, only Empoli have conceded more corners than Lecce (66) and Bologna (60).