Lecce vs Monza prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-09-10 13:00.
Two of the top-three favourites to be demoted from Serie A (SA) this season will be battling it out in an early season relegation six-pointer, as Lecce welcome Monza. Last season's Serie B champions Lecce haven't found the transition to the top-flight easy, having failed to win in five SA opening games (D2, L3) and another failure here would mark the third-time in their top-flight history that they have failed to win any of their opening six league games, suffering relegation on both previous occasions.
Lecce did show grit to come back from a goal down in both their draws (1-1) but that shouldn't mask their deficiencies, having conceded first in all their SA games this season. A familiar foe from the second division may be a welcome change however, as Lecce have won the last two league H2H meetings ‘to nil’ whilst also winning on the last occasion they met a newly-promoted SA side.
The 69th different club to make a SA debut, Monza have started their campaign even worse than their hosts, earning them the unwanted record of being the third-ever side to lose their first five SA games of a campaign! Both the previous occasions saw the teams relegated and Monza manager Giovanni Stroppa may be starting to feel the pressure despite claiming "I will be on the bench in Lecce."
The schedule has been tough on the newcomers, having already faced three top-four contenders in Napoli, Roma and Atalanta. Two of those were on the road and having suffered defeats in both by a combined 7-0 scoreline, Monza witnessed the full magnitude of the challenge ahead.
Players to watch: Federico Di Francesco may be primed for an impact here with three of his last four SA goals coming in home matches. Monza will hope Matteo Pessina continues his strong form in matches against Lecce, with his two goals against them in separate SA games helping his side on the day win ‘to-nil’.
Hot stat: Both Lecce and Monza are yet to score within 30 minutes of a game this league campaign.