Lecce vs AS Roma preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

AS Roma will continue their quest for a top-four finish when they travel to Stadio Comunale Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare, to face Lecce in match week 30 of Serie A.

Lecce enter this game in a not-so-comfortable position, where they sit in 13th place in the table, only four points above 16th-placed Frosinone in the relegation zone.

The Salentini have been on an abysmal run of form since the turn of the year and the season generally, where they’ve only secured six victories while losing 13 matches so far this campaign. They’ve only been able to record two wins in their last eleven matches which includes the memorable 3:2 victory over Fiorentina, while losing seven and recording two draws in that run.

In their last outing in Serie A, the Salentini recorded a 1:0 win away to bottom-of-the-table side, Salernitana, thanks to a 17th-minute Norbert Gyömbér own goal.

Salernitana were completely dominant in all facets of the game, with more shots on goal, 72% ball possession and a sky-high 700 pass volume compared to Lecce’s subpar 283 passes. It took a compact defensive unit and the goalkeeping heroics of Wladimiro Falcone to ensure all three points for the Salentini.

Lecce’s coach, Luca Gotti will hope to make it back-to-back wins in his first two matches in charge following the sacking of former coach, Roberto D’Aversa.

For the visitors, Roma have been in scintillating form since the appointment of Daniele De Rossi on 16th January after the dismissal of José Mourinho. De Rossi has guided Roma to a good run of results in both domestic and continental competitions.

In Europe, Roma progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League after knocking out Feyenoord on penalties and recording a 4:1 aggregate win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The 40-year-old has spearheaded the Giallorossi to seven victories and one draw in the Serie A with their only loss coming against Serie A leaders, Inter Milan. This run of results has propelled Roma from mid-table to contending for the top four as they currently sit three points adrift of Bologna in fourth place.

With a superior goal difference, the three-time Serie A champions will savour the chance to usurp Bologna to fourth place with victory over Lecce on Monday but will also hope for a different outcome when Bologna face relegation-bound Salernitana on the opening match of Easter Monday.

In their last Serie A outing, a 50th minute Lorenzo Pellegrini strike was enough to seal all three points for the Giallorossi who made it five wins from six games when they faced Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma dominated proceedings from start to finish and limited the away side to only two shots on target.

After being limited to a few openings in the first half, the second half of the game saw more goal-mouth action as Roma began to exert themselves in Sassuolo’s 18-yard box.

Pellegrini took matters into his own hands when he guided a sumptuous strike from outside the box into the top corner to give Roma the lead.

Sassuolo nearly equalised in one of their two shots on target when centre-back Martin Erlic’s looping header was heading for the top right corner only for a brilliant save from Mile Svilar to keep the ball out.

A flurry of chances began to fall for Roma after the goal and on-loan Leeds United defender, Diego Llorente, nearly doubled the lead with a glancing header from Pellegrini’s cross but Andrea Consigli was well-positioned to make a save.

Romelu Lukaku came close to finding the back of the net but missed two chances by a whisker.

Roma’s youngster, Tommaso Baldanzi, had a brilliant right-footed shot from the edge of the box heading into the bottom corner only for a diving save from Andrea Consigli to keep the ball out.

The 21-year-old came close to scoring in the 88th minute of the game with another strike from the edge of the box only for another stupendous save from Consigli to keep the scoreline flattering for the away side who were poor on the day.

As the Giallorossi continue to tilt towards a Champions League spot, they couldn’t have wished for a better opponent than Lecce, whom they haven’t lost a match against for the past twelve years.

Lecce Vs Roma match details

Date: Monday,1 April 2024

Location: Lecce, Italy

Venue: Stadio Comunale Ettore Giardiniero – Via del mare

Kick-off time: 5:00 PM GMT, 16:00 PM UTC, 12:00 PM ET

Referee: Matteo Marcenaro

Tickets: Supporters who buy AS Roma tickets can do so via the official club channels or through a reputable reseller online.

Match stats and head-to-head

•The Giallorossi have not lost against Lecce since 2012 and have also recorded eight consecutive victories at home against the Salentini.

•Lecce’s 1:0 win over Salernitana was their first Serie A win in two months.

•At least three goals have been scored in nine of Roma’s last ten Serie A games.

Lecce have conceded at least two goals in their last four Serie A matches at home.

•Roma have scored at least two goals in their last four away Serie A matches.

•Both teams have found the back of the net in each of the last four matches in this fixture.

Team news 

For the hosts, Lameck Banda missed out on the victory over Salernitana through suspension. The 23-year-old will unlikely feature in the clash against Roma after being ruled out of Zambia’s Four Nation tournament during the international break with a knee injury.

The trio of Mohamed Kaba, Federico Brancolini and Kastriot Dermaku are also ruled out of this clash with respective knee injuries.

After missing out on Belgium’s first friendly game against Ireland, Romelu Lukaku returned to the Red Devils’ starting lineup that played a 2:2 draw with England in Wembley. Roma’s leading goalscorer will be fit to face Lecce whom he scored a last-gasp winner in the 2:1 win in the first-leg.

Paulo Dybala remains sidelined with a muscular injury while Rasmus Kristensen and Chris Smalling remain unavailable for selection with thigh and ankle injuries respectively.

Sardar Azmoun, Leonardo Spinazzola and Renato Sanches are undergoing treatments and will unlikely feature in this clash.

On a positive note for De Rossi’s side, Tammy Abraham stepped up his recovery in what looks to be the final stage of his recuperation from a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Predicted starting lineup

Lecce predicted starting lineup:

Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Gonzalez, Ramadani, Oudin; Almqvist, Krstovic, Sansone.

Roma predicted starting lineup:

Svilar; Karsdorp, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Baldanzi, Lukaku, El Shaarawy.

Prediction

The appointment of a new coach, especially by a struggling side always tends to spur hope and restore confidence in a team as exemplified by Roma after De Rossi’s appointment.

The newly appointed Gotti has begun his tenure with a win in Lecce’s last match and the Salentini will be full of confidence heading into the clash against Roma.

However, it is important to note that Lecce were completely outclassed, outplayed and outperformed in all ramifications by Salernitana who could have emerged victorious if they had taken their chances.

This is different from De Rossi’s led Roma side that outperformed Hellas Verona in his first match in charge.

The Giallorossi are still the much better side and are tipped to continue their impressive away-scoring form against a side that have a knack for conceding goals at home.

We’re predicting a 3:1 win for Roma.