Lecce-Napoli Match Preview

After suffering their first defeat of the season, Lecce host Napoli at the Via del Mare. Meanwhile, the visitors will look to build off of their best performance of the season against Udinese.

US Lecce

After starting the season unbeaten in five, Lecce managed only one shot attempt against Juventus and it didn’t hit the target. With five changes and an xG of 0.1, it was clear that Lecce played for a draw at the Allianz and nearly succeeded. Former Napoli player Arkadiusz Milik scored in the 57th minute, converting one of the few chances Juventus created in the match.

The defeat ended a stretch of positive results for Lecce, including a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Lazio and a 2-2 draw against Fiorentina, who were up 2-0 by the 25th minute.

A few players have stood out during Lecce’s strong start to the season, but none more than Montenegrin striker Nikola Krstović. The 23-year-old has already scored three goals this season and provided an aerial threat in the box. With attacking options like Krstović, Patrick Almqvist and Rémi Oudin, and the support of the Lecce faithful by his side, Roberto D’Aversa has no intention of playing for a draw, or so he claims.

SSC Napoli

After a tumultuous week, in which Victor Osimhen’s publicly questioned his coach’s tactic’s and the players agent threatened to sue the club over a distasteful pair of TikTok videos, the reigning Capocannoniere remained professional and reliable as ever on the pitch.

Six minutes before the break, Osimhen scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Though his celebration was muted, the Nigerian couldn’t help but embrace his teammates, especially Matteo Politano who not only assisted the goal with a clever flick, but also encouraged Napoli fans to cheer for the goalscorer. Osimhen showed his gratitude to the fans at the end of the match – an encouraging sign for fans who feared a departure might be imminent.

Meanwhile, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has his best match of the season, reminding the world why he was named the Serie A MVP last season. After hitting the upright twice, the Georgian persisted and eventually scored his first goal since March. The winger’s emotional celebration confirmed how desperately Kvaratskhelia wanted to score. The young star later assisted Giovanni Simeone’s first of the campaign as Napoli immediately responded to an opponent’s goal for the third time this season.

The victory marked the end of a three-match winless streak for the Partenopei, who reduced the gap to the top to four points.

Injuries/Suspensions

Central defender Kastriot Dermaku is sidelined with an unknown injury while Lameck Banda continues to recover from a thigh muscle injury. Mohamed Kaba will not be in the squad after being shown two yellow cards in the final five minutes plus stoppage time against Juventus.

For Napoli, Pierluigi Gollini remains sidelined with a hand injury, while Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus remain out for a while with thigh muscle injuries.