Our prediction for this Serie A match:
Lecce and Torino square off against each other at Stadio Via del Mare in the opening match of Serie A round 26. The Giallorossi aim to make amends for back-to-back losses to Sassuolo and Inter, but Sunday’s clash will be anything but a walk in the park for the home side. Defender Federico Baschirotto is back from suspension, whilst both Kastriot Dermaku and Marin Pongracic are major doubts.
Il Toro, on the other hand, aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bologna, but given their poor winless run on the road, we do not believe that they are capable of grabbing more than one point from the match. All Ronaldo Vieira, Nikola Vlasic, Pietro Pellegri, David Zima, and Valentino Lazaro are out of contention through injuries, speaking of the away side. In the first half of the season Torino defeated Lecce thanks to Nikola Vlasic’s goal.
Highlighted Player (Etrit Berisha):
Etrit Berisha is an Albanian goalkeeper born on 10 March 1989 in Prishtina, and he has become an important player for the Albania national team over the years. After starting his youth career in his native country, Berisha joined Swedish side as a youngster and he quickly managed to prove his worth on senior level, making 90 league appearances and even scoring 3 goals from the penalty spot.
The impressive displays in Swedish Allsvenskan earned him a lucrative move to Lazio in the summer of 2013, and he has since been vying with Federico Marchetti for a starting berth at Stadio Olimpico, making almost 40 league appearances during the first three years at the club. Berisha has also performed well for the Biancocelesti in Coppa Italia and Europa League, while helping Albania qualify for their first ever European Championship finals.
The talented goalkeeper spent every minute on the pitch during team’s successful qualifying campaign, making sure his name will be written in the Albania national team history books.
Highlighted Team (Lecce):
When you imagine a yellow-red shirt, Lecce must be the first club that comes to your mind. Founded back in 1908, Lecce are Italian club that will compete in the Serie A in the 2019/2020 season. The Giallorossi return to the Italian top flight following a seven-year absence and, as always, they will host their rivals at Stadio Via del Mare.
The venue which was opened on September 11, 1966 can hold up to 33,876 people. The likes of Antonio Conte, Graziano Pelle, Javier Chevanton, Juan Cuadrado, Mirko Vucinic, Fabrizio Miccoli and Massimo Oddo are one of the most notable footballers who played for the Italian club in the past.
Lecce and Gallipoli face each other in the Salento derby and there have been fireworks in meetings between the two clubs since the 2009/2010 Serie B season when they first met in the league.