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Lecce will entertain Empoli at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare in Serie A on Sunday.
The two teams have endured winless starts to their league campaigns, with the hosts suffering back-to-back defeats in their first two games of the season. After an opening day 2-1 defeat against Inter Milan, they fell to a 1-0 loss at Sampdoria.
Empoli, meanwhile, kicked off their league campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Spezia. However, they put put up a good fight against Fiorentina in their next outing, playing out a goalless draw.
Lecce vs Empoli Head-to-Head
The two teams have crossed paths 24 times across competitions. The fixture has been closely contested, with the hosts having a narrow 8-7 lead in wins, while nine games have ended in draws.
This will be the first meeting in Serie A between the two teams since the 2005-06 season, when Empoli secured a league double. They last met in Serie B during the 2020-21 campaign, when Empoli secured a 2-1 win at home.
Leece's last four wins against Gli Azzurri have come at home, so they will be hopeful of a positive outcome here.
Lecce form guide (all competitions): L-L-L
Empoli form guide (all competitions): D-L-L
Lecce vs Empoli Team News
Lecce
Mert Cetin and Kastriot Dermaku remain sidelined with injuries for I Lupi, while new signing Samuel Umtiti is not in contention to be included in the squad just yet.
Injured: Mert Cetin, Kastriot Dermaku
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: None
Empoli
Lorenzo Tonelli is struggling with a knee injury and will play no part in this game. Nicolo Cambiaghi was injured in the game against Fiorentina, picking up a thigh strain. He is recovering at the moment and is unlikely to recover in time for the trip to Leece.
Defender Sebastiano Luperto was red-carded against Fiorentina and will serve a suspension here.
Injured: Lorenzo Tonelli, Nicolo Cambiaghi
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Sebastiano Luperto
Unavailable: None
Lecce vs Empoli Predicted XIs
Lecce (4-3-3): Wladimiro Falcone; Valentin Gendrey, Alexis Blin, Federico Baschirotto, Antonio Gallo; Kristijan Bistrovic, Morten Hjulmand, Kristoffer Askildsen; Gabriel Strefezza, Assan Ceesay, Federico Di Francesco
Empoli (4-3-1-2): Guglielmo Vicario; Petar Stojanovic, Ardian Ismajli, Liberato Cacace, Fabiano Parisi; Filippo Bandinelli, Nicolas Haas, Razvan Marin; Liam Henderson; Martín Satriano, Mattia Destro
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Lecce vs Empoli Prediction
Leece seem to be struggling on their return to the top flight and have scored just one goal in the two league games. Empoli, meanwhile, are yet to find the back of the net this season.
Lecce have a solid home record against their northern rivals and are expected to avoid a loss here, but a win seems unlikely. Given the form of the two teams, a low-scoring draw might ensue here.
Prediction: Lecce 1-1 Empoli.
