Both seeking their first win of the new Serie A season, Lecce and Cagliari will scrap it out for three points at Stadio Via del Mare on Saturday evening.
While the Salentini have suffered back-to-back losses against two tough opponents, their Sardinian counterparts have drawn both league games and remain unbeaten so far this term.
Match preview
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Handed a particularly tricky start to the fixture list, Lecce followed their opening-day defeat to Atalanta BC with another expected reverse against reigning champions Inter Milan last weekend.
Having conceded four goals to La Dea, Luca Gotti's side restricted the Scudetto holders to just two at San Siro, where they were already one down within five minutes.
While failing to upset either Champions League-bound side will not cause concern for fans of the Giallorossi, their team's lack of bite is more worrying: Lecce's last league goal was scored by Nikola Krstovic in early May - incidentally against Cagliari.
Since then, Gotti's men have attempted 67 shots without scoring, extending their drought to five league games - the Puglian club have never before gone six games without a goal in their entire Serie A history.
Without Roberto Piccoli - who will line up for Cagliari on Saturday - Krstovic must again shoulder the burden up front, as Lecce aim to halt that streak in their final fixture before international football intervenes.
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Like Lecce, Cagliari progressed from the first round of the Coppa Italia earlier this month, and since then they have kicked off their Serie A campaign with back-to-back draws.
The Sardinian side shut out Roma to earn a first-day point, before being held to a 1-1 draw by newly promoted Como on Monday evening.
Cagliari took the lead just before half time, as Piccoli headed past Pepe Reina in the visitors' goal, but that lead soon evaporated after the interval.
After three games in charge, Serie A survival specialist Davide Nicola remains undefeated, while his new club have stayed unbeaten through their first two Serie A fixtures for the first time in 13 years.
The Rossoblu now visit Via del Mare, where they have not lost a league match since 2008, aiming to win successive away games in Italy's top flight for the first time in five seasons - albeit across two different campaigns.
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Team News
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Luca Gotti will have some defensive reinforcements to call upon this weekend, after his Lecce side shipped six goals in their first two league matches.
New signing Frederic Guilbert vie with another French full-back, Valentin Gendrey, to start on Saturday, and Kevin Bonifazi has arrived on loan from Bologna to bolster Gotti's options in central defence.
Once again, Joan Gonzalez and long-term absentee Mohamed Kaba will be unavailable for the hosts, whose attack is spearheaded by Montenegrin marksman Nikola Krstovic, scorer of Salentini's first-round cup winner earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Cagliari striker Roberto Piccoli returns to Via del Mare after scoring five times in 35 league games for Lecce last season, hoping to mark his 100th Serie A appearance with a goal against his former club.
Midfielder Antoine Makoumbou has overcome a muscular problem but could be heading for a move away, while wing-back Nadir Zortea may be passed fit to rejoin the squad.
Nonetheless, Paulo Azzi should still continue on the visitors' right flank, with Davide Nicola unlikely to make many changes to his starting XI.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Guilbert, Baschirotto, Gaspar, Gallo; Ramadani, Pierret; Morente, Rafia, Dorgu; Krstovic
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Scuffet; Zappa, Mina, Luperto; Azzi, Marin, Prati, Deiola, Augello; Luvumbo, Piccoli
We say: Lecce 1-2 Cagliari
Lecce could lose their first three games for just a third time in their Serie A history - and the first since 1997 - as they lack thrust in the final third and Cagliari have settled into their post-Claudio Ranieri era quite smoothly.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
