Serie A: Under-Fire Napoli Out to Test Lecce’s Top Four Credentials

Lecce vs Napoli

If you told us five weeks into the 2023-24 campaign that Lecce would be in the top four while Napoli were not, we wouldn’t believe you, but here we are.

Yes, you read that right: Lecce, who finished 16^th in the Serie A table last season, are currently fourth at the table after a run of positive Serie A 2023 results, while defending champions Napoli are the seventh seed because they’ve hit a rough patch recently.

Lecce may have lost to Juventus last night, but it was a hard-fought game, and they’re keen on bouncing back at home on Saturday.

On the other hand, it feels like Napoli’s Scudetto run last term was just a flash in the pan, although they still have time to turn things around if they resolve their on- and off-the-field issues.

Talking Points

Lecce’s hungry young heroes

Although it’s unlikely that Lecce are going to stay in the top four at the end of this season, the fact that they’re there in the first place deserves plaudits, and that’s what we did here at SBOTOP.

Lecce started with a 2-1 win over Lazio, a side that was initially dubbed a top contender for this season, and they followed it up with two draws and two wins before losing to Juve.

Roberto D’Aversa deserves a ton of credit for drawing the best out of his young core, led by the likes of Nikola Krstovic, Mohamed Kaba, and Antonino Gallo, who are all under 25 years old.

Krstovic, in particular, is making waves in his debut season at Lecce, already scoring three goals. If he keeps this up, we wouldn’t be surprised if he’d be on the radar of rival clubs soon, and Lecce might profit a lot from it.

Gallo, meanwhile, has become an established starter at Stadio Via del Mare. He is an industrious wing-back who’s capable of defending and delivering dangerous crosses for chances inside the box.

And another youngster who deserves a shoutout is Mohamed Kaba. The 21-year-old box-to-box midfielder has already locked in a starting spot in his debut season at Lecce, although he won’t be available for this upcoming game after he was sent off in the Juve game.

There’s palpable tension at Napoli

Napoli’s title defence is off to a shaky start after they hit their worst run of form in 17 months, with two draws and one loss in their last three outings. Because of this, Rudi Garcia, who replaced Luciano Spalletti last summer, has come under fire from the fans, players, and local media.

Garcia got into a fight when he substituted Victor Osimhen after the striker missed a late penalty during their scoreless draw with Bologna. Garcia tried to play down the situation, but there’s more than meets the eye.

Speaking of Osimhen’s missed penalty, the Nigerian striker is reportedly planning to take legal action against Napoli after a video mocking him was posted on the club’s official TikTok account.

Given Napoli’s predicament, rival clubs are now keeping tabs on Osimhen, whose current contract doesn’t expire until the summer of 2025.

History

Lecce almost went undefeated in both Serie A meetings against Napoli in a season for the first time since 2000-01 last year.

This would’ve happened if Antonino Gallo didn’t have an own goal at this exact home fixture in April, which was a 2-1 result in favour of the Partenopei. With the defeat, Lecce have lost six Serie A home games in a row for the first time since July 2020.

Prior to that, Lecce held Napoli to a 1-1 draw in August 2022.

Napoli have found the back of the net in each of their last 13 Serie A meetings against Lecce, and I Salentini’s last clean sheet against I Partenopei was back in November 1997 (2-0).

Betting Tip

Despite the rumblings inside Napoli’s dressing room, they’re still backed by the Serie A 2023 odds to win this weekend. The Partenopei are 1.85 favourites, while Lecce’s odds to get a home victory are at 3.85, and a draw is at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.

Because of their roster strength, Napoli should be able to win this one, although Lecce are going to give them a huge run for their money to earn the victory. Furthermore, because both sides have struggled to find the back of the net lately, we believe that this is going to be a low-scoring affair; hence, going for Under 2.75 at 1.75 is our recommended bet.

 

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