,
Matchday 29
TOR
TOR
PAR
PAR
DAZN | SKY
,
Matchday 29
INT
INT
ATA
ATA
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
NAP
NAP
LEC
LEC
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
UDI
UDI
JUV
JUV
DAZN | SKY
,
Matchday 29
VER
VER
GEN
GEN
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
PIS
PIS
CAG
CAG
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
SAS
SAS
BOL
BOL
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
COM
COM
ROM
ROM
DAZN | SKY
,
Matchday 29
LAZ
LAZ
MIL
MIL
DAZN
,
Matchday 29
CRE
CRE
FIO
FIO
DAZN
Empoli vs Lecce, salvation points up for grabs
Serie A

Empoli vs Lecce, salvation points up for grabs

Empoli continue their search for three full points, whilst Lecce dream of catching up in the standings

Empoli vs Lecce will open Serie A's Saturday programme alongside Udinese vs Atalanta. The Tuscans are coming off a draw with Venezia that ended a run of three consecutive defeats and will now want to get back to winning ways to keep a safe margin from the relegation zone. Three points lower down is Lecce, who, after losing to Lazio and Como in their last two matches, drew with Genoa and will now want three points to overtake their opponents in the standings.

HEAD TO HEAD

Empoli have remained unbeaten in nine of their 11 matches against Lecce in Serie A, although five of these meetings have ended in draws, including the reverse fixture (1-1) - these two teams have never drawn both games in a top-flight season. Empoli are unbeaten in their five home games against Lecce in Serie A (W3, D2); the first match between these teams produced six goals (5-1 for the host side), but the next four saw exactly one goal per game on average.

DID YOU KNOW

Since Marco Giampaolo's arrival on the bench, Lecce have won 1.14 points per game (8 in 7 matches), compared to the 0.75 average they collected in the first 12 matchdays of this championship under Luca Gotti. Overall, only Zdenek Zeman (1.16) registered a better points average than the current Giallorossi coach in Serie A (even considering the three points per win). This is the encounter between the teams to have scored the fewest goals in the final half hour of games in Serie A this season: two for Empoli, three for Lecce – the Tuscan team also remain the only side without any goals scored from the 76th minute onwards in this Serie A campaign Marco Giampaolo coached Empoli in the 2015-16 season, recording 46 points , the second best ever performance by the Tuscans in a 20-team Serie A championship (only fewer than the 54 points in 2006/07) – the current manager of Lecce won three of the four away matches as coach at Castellani against the Azzurri in the top-flight (L1).

PLAYERS

Sebastiano Esposito is the only player born in the 21st century to have scored more than five goals in this Serie A season: seven, although only onecame at home. Furthermore, the Empoli striker has scored five goals in the five matches he has played since the start of last December, more than any other players in this period in the Italian top-flight. The last away goal scored by Ante Rebic in Serie A came as a substitute at Castellani against Empoli, with Milan in October 2022 – that is also one of the only three matches in the top-flight in which he scored and provided an assist in the same game.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: Cautioned: Cacace, Pezzella, Grassi (Empoli); Rafia (Lecce)

REFEREE

CHIFFI (IMPERIALE – PRETI), IV:COLLU, VAR: MARINI, AVAR: SOZZA

UPCOMING MATCHES IN SERIE A

Inter-Empoli (Sunday 19 January, 20.45 CET) Cagliari-Lecce (Sunday 19 January, 15.00 CET) (Photo Getty Images)