A week without Champions League football means Napoli will continue their championship defence after reclaiming the top spot during the weekend, and their next task is the relegation-threatened Lecce.
Lecce’s three-match unbeaten run ended with a tough 3-2 defeat away at Udinese, leaving them just two points clear of the drop zone. The back-to-back clean sheets beforehand were not enough to change their position as the team with the worst defence in the league, which should boost Napoli’s confidence even more.
The Champions bounced back from the shocking 6-2 defeat away at PSV Eindhoven in the best possible way, defeating Inter Milan 3-1 at home and reclaiming the top of the table. This could be the start of a new winning streak, especially given that they were undefeated against the bottom five teams during their championship season last year. And they haven’t lost away at Stadio Via del Mare in over a decade.
How the bookies view it: The Blues to remain at the top
Bookmakers are not giving the hosts much of a chance, especially since Lecce have yet to win at home in Serie A this season. At the moment, you can pick them at 11/2, while Napoli are available at 1/2. If you believe a draw is possible, you can back it at 16/5.
Recent head-to-head: Lecce – 1, Napoli – 7
As we hinted earlier, the statistics from direct clashes definitely favour the champions. The Giallorossi can boast only one win from the last 10 meetings, while Napoli have won seven times. More importantly, Napoli have won five consecutive games at this stadium, with Lecce's last home triumph dating back to 2011.
Players to watch: McTominay is the only choice
Antonio Conte will be forced to make tough decisions, as he can’t use Rasmus Hojlund, Romelu Lukaku, and Kevin de Bruyne, who was subbed off in the 37th minute against Inter with a hamstring injury.
With this in mind, we will turn our attention to last season’s MVP – Scott McTominay. After a slower start to the season, McTominay has finally regained his form and scored three goals across the last two matches. And with so many key players out, he will be tasked with a more offensive role, so we expect another strong performance from him.
Probable line-ups
Lecce: Falcone, Veiga, Gaspar, Gabriel, Gallo, Coulibaly, Ramadani, Berisha, Pierotti, Stulic, Morente
Napoli: Milinkovic-Savic, Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Jesus, Spinazzola, Gilmour, Politano, Anguissa, McTominay, Neres, Lucca
Anything else catch the eye?
Napoli have had some defensive struggles this season and have not kept a clean sheet in nine consecutive competitive fixtures. That’s unusual for the champions and Antonio Conte, but there’s a strong chance the streak ends on Tuesday, as Lecce have definitely struggled with the goalscoring aspect of the game.
Moreover, Napoli conceded only once against teams in the last five places last season across 10 fixtures. BTTS – No feels like a good pick here, and we also don’t expect Napoli to score more than twice given their injury crisis, so we don’t recommend backing the usual goal markets here.
GambleAware