Lecce vs Atalanta: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

The battle for European qualification reaches the penultimate weekend of the season as Atalanta travel to Lecce.

Date: 18/05/2024

Location: Via del Mare

Kick-Off: 5:00 PM

Atalanta could potentially secure their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League if they beat Lecce away from home considering the results that could take place. Atalanta face Roma before their game against Lecce and if they were to beat Roma, they would only require a single point to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Atalanta are currently fifth in Serie A from 35 games played as it stands, and they could potentially finish even higher. The home side are four points behind Juventus as of writing and they could potentially finish third ahead of Bologna and Juventus. The home side have two routes into next season’s Champions League after they secured their spot in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Lecce are all but assured of their position as a Serie A club next season. The club are currently 13th in the league after 35 games played and most importantly are seven points clear of 18th-placed Monza. Realistically they do not even need a win from those three remaining games to survive due to having a sizeable point advantage over the teams below.

The recent meeting between the two teams resulted in a 1-0 to Atalanta thanks to a goal from Ademola Lookman.

Lecce Team News

Kastriot Dermaku, Jeepe Corfitzen, Mohamed Kaba and Lameck Banda will all be unavailable for the game against Atalanta. Roberto Piccoli will be available for selection following his recent suspension.

Atalanta Team News

Emi Holm, Rafael Toloi and Sead Kolasinac are all missing due to injury. Gianluca Scamacca should be available following his recent suspension.

The recent history between the two teams suggests that Atalanta are the slight favourites heading into this game. The visitors have won three out of the last five league meetings, with Lecce winning the two remaining games.

This fixture provides an average of 2.67 goals scored between the two teams. In the last 17 league meetings between the two sides, Atalanta has a far superior record. The away side have won eight, having drawn four and lost only three to Lecce.

Interestingly, from Lecce’s three wins from 17, two of which took place season. Lecce achieved a league double over their opponents last season which included a 1-0 victory for Lecce away at their opponents.

The game at the Via del Mare resulted in a 2-1 win for Lecce over Atalanta thanks to goals from Federico Di Francesco and Federico Baschirotto. Duvan Zapata scored a consolation goal for Atalanta.

Atalanta recorded an emphatic victory over Leece four years ago before the season was curtailed. The visitors travelled to the Via del Mare and recorded a 7-2 away win. Duvan Zapata scored three that game along with goals from Rusian Malinovskyi, Luis Muriel and Joseph Illicic.

In the last ten meetings between the two teams, there have only been two dismissals, one for either team. Before their most recent league defeat away at Lecce, the away side had remained unbeaten in their last three games at the Via del Mare.

Aside from the 7-2 score-line, the meetings between the two sides have been settled by a single goal for the winning side. There was a seven-year absence from this fixture because of Lecce’s standing in Serie B for that period.

Lecce heads into this game on the back of some mixed form in Serie A. The home side has won twice in their last five league games, having drawn twice, and losing the remaining two games. This is subject to change since Lecce played Udinese before their game against Atalanta.

In one of their more recent home games, Lecce recorded an important win over Empoli. In what was a closely contested affair between the two sides, Lecce found a winner late on through Nicola Sansone to give them all three points.

Lecce’s home form this season has been their main strength in securing a spot in next season’s Serie A. The home side have played 17 games at the Via del Mare as it stands, having won six, drawn six and lost five. Lecce have averaged 1.41 points at home this season and have won once in their last five.

Lecce have won 35% of their home games this season and have scored exactly one goal per game. Nikola Krstovic is the top scorer for Lecce this season. The Montenegro international has seven goals in the league this season.

Atalanta has played 18 games away from home this season and obtained a rather respectable away record. The away side have won seven, drawn four and lost seven away from home, although their recent away form has been rather fair.

Atalanta has recorded a 1.39-point average per game away from home this season and has won 39% of their away games in general. Their attacking output away from home has been good, having failed to score in only 17% of their away fixtures this season.

Atalanta have won three out of their last five league games away from home, including an impressive 3-0 win over former champions Napoli. Atalanta secured the impressive victory thanks to goals from Aleksei Miranchuk, Gianluca Scamacca and Teun Koopmeiners.

Gianluca Scamacca’s involvement in Atalanta will be key following his recent suspension. The former West Ham United striker has ten goals in Serie A this season and has averaged a goal every 124 minutes. Scamacca has three goals in his last five competitive games.

We predict that Atalanta will keep up their fine form and beat Lecce 3-0, with ex-West Ham United forward Gianluca Scamacca likely to get on the scoresheet. Lecce 0-3 Atalanta

The game will not be broadcast live in the UK.

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