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AC Milan welcome Lecce at the San Siro on Sunday, after parting ways with Marco Giampaolo. The former boss was in charge for only three and a half months, before being sacked. Milan will be hoping to get back to winning ways with the appointment of Stefano Pioli as their new manager.
The Rossoneri broke their losing streak with a victory against Genoa before the international break, but it wasn’t enough to save Giampaolo from getting sacked. The fans are unhappy with the appointment of Pioli. They greeted the new manager with a #PioliOut hashtag, which is trending in Italy now. On the other hand, the players will be confident of back-to-back victories when they face Lecce on Sunday.
Newly promoted Lecce are also out-of-form, with the Salentians sitting in the relegation zone with two wins from seven matches in the Serie A. The 18th placed Lecce have secured away wins against Torino and SPAL, showcasing that they cannot be taken lightly on the road. Although Milan will be slight favourites, Lecce will believe that there are three points for the taking.
Based on the odds on BigPesa, the hosts are the favourites to win at 1.35. A draw is placed at 4.3, while a win for the visitors is valued at odds of 6.8.
Team News:
AC Milan
There have been a lot of speculation over Pioli’s team selection in his debut game as Milan boss. In terms of injuries, Mattia Caldara is not yet fully fit after the ligament injury that he sustained last season. He is now training with the group. Pioli will also be forced to make the change at right back after Davide Calabria picked up a red card against Genoa. Lucas Biglia, Franck Kessie and Lucas Paqueta will be expected to start in midfield with Piatek upfront.
The score-line of 2-0 is the most-favoured, as per BigPesa and is valued at odds of 7.6.
Lecce
Lecce have no new injury concerns and have a fully fit squad going into this trip to Milan. The only slight doubts listed are Fiamozzi, Tabanelli, Lapadula and Imbula. Lucioni and Rossettini are expected to continue at the heart of Lecce’s defence with Falco, Babacar and Mancosu forming the front three.
As per BigPesa, the game is expected to produce a couple of goals at odds of 3.7. The odds of a third goal being scored are placed at 3.8.
Predicted Lineups
AC Milan: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Andrea Conti, Mateo Musacchio, Alessio Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez, Franck Kessie, Lucas Biglia, Lucas Paqueta, Suso, Krzysztof Piatek, Rafael Leao.
Lecce: Gabriel, Andrea Rispoli, Fabio Lucioni, Luca Rossettini, Marco Calderoni, Zan Majer, Jacopo Petriccione, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Marco Mancosu, Filippo Falco, Khouma Babacar.
