Lazio will be looking to solidify their place in Serie A’s top four when they welcome struggling Lecce to the Stadio Olimpico on Friday night.
With four matches remaining, Lazio find themselves third in the table – two points behind second-placed Juventus and three points inside the UEFA Champions League spots.
At the opposite end of the standings, Lecce occupy 16th place. Having lost three of their last four games, they sit four points clear of the relegation zone.
When Lazio enjoyed a run of seven victories in eight matches between February and April, they looked destined to finish as runners-up to Napoli.
However, the Eagles have taken just three points from a possible 12 since then, losing to Torino, Inter Milan and AC Milan while scoring a solitary goal.
Following a run of three defeats in four outings, Maurizio Sarri’s men will be eager to return to winning ways as quickly as possible.
Thankfully for Lazio, they have lost just two of their last 10 home league games, winning four of their previous five at the Stadio Olimpico.
Lecce have also lost three of their last four matches, with a loss at Milan preceding back-to-back defeats against Juventus and Hellas Verona.
When you look at the bigger picture, Lecce have only managed to win one of their previous 11 league outings, suffering nine losses along the way.
It is also worth noting that Lecce have lost each of their last five away games in Serie A, netting a solitary goal in the process.
Given that only bottom club Sampdoria have scored fewer goals than Lecce’s 28 this season, the visitors will struggle to outscore Lazio on Friday.
Head-to-head: Believe it or not, Lecce head into this clash on the back of successive 2-1 victories over Lazio, although they have managed to win just three of the last 11 meetings.
On top of that, Lazio have only lost five of their last 19 Serie A matches against Lecce, with the Eagles scoring over 1.5 goals on nine occasions.
Team news: Lazio will be without the injured midfield duo of Matias Vecino (thigh) and Danilo Cataldi (calf) for the foreseeable future.
As for Lecce, they are expected to be without Kastriot Dermaku (hamstring) on Friday as the defender continues to recover from injury.
Although Lazio have lost their way in recent weeks, Sarri’s men should have more than enough quality to overcome relegation-threatened Lecce.
Forebet predicts that Lazio and Lecce will dish up a tense and cagey encounter. Still, the Eagles are expected to come out on top.
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