Lecce vs Genoa: Two Struggling Sides With Nothing to Hide Behind

Sunday afternoon. Serie A. Two sides who have been giving their supporters plenty to worry about. Lecce host Genoa at 17:00 UK time, and if you are looking for a masterclass in football, you might want to manage your expectations. What you will get is a game between two teams that desperately need points and have not been earning them consistently enough.

Lecce's Form: Goals Against Are the Problem

The thing is, Lecce have picked up two wins across their last five Serie A matches. That is not nothing. But they have conceded ten goals in that same run. Ten. Lecce lost to AC Milan 0-3, lost to AS Roma 0-4, and lost to Cagliari 0-1. The two wins came against Monza, 3-2, and Venezia, 2-0. Their only clean sheet in that five-match sample came against Venezia.

Listen, when you are shipping goals at that rate against top sides, you can almost understand it. But losing 0-1 to Cagliari at home tells you there is a deeper problem with this defence. The basics are not right. You cannot ask a forward line to carry a team that keeps gifting goals away. Accountability has to start at the back.

Genoa's Form: Leaking Goals From Every Direction

Genoa arrive having taken one win, one draw, and three losses across their last five Serie A matches. They have conceded nine goals. They have not kept a single clean sheet. Both teams scoring has happened in four of their last five. That is a side that simply cannot keep the ball out.

Their one win in this run came against Fiorentina, 2-1. Good result, to be fair. And I mean that without any sarcasm. But then they lost 1-4 to Como and 1-2 to Parma. The desire to compete for a full ninety minutes has not been there consistently enough. End of.

Genoa also arrive with three players absent through injury, one of whom is not expected back until late November. That is a real problem for a squad that cannot afford to be stretched any further.

Head to Head: Lecce Hold the Edge

There is one previous meeting on record between these two sides in the data available. Lecce won that fixture 1-0, kept a clean sheet, and Genoa failed to score. One meeting is not a pattern, but home advantage and recent head-to-head form both point the same direction.

The Verdict

The thing is, neither of these sides is playing well enough to dominate this game. But Lecce are at home, they have that one previous win over Genoa to point to, and Genoa are coming in shorthanded and leaking goals in almost every match they play.

I am not excited about this one as a spectacle. But I think Lecce, with home advantage and a slightly more settled squad, edge it. Genoa's inability to keep clean sheets is the decisive factor. Lecce's attack, when it fires, has shown it can score. Against a defence this porous, that matters.

Back Lecce to win. One selection. No messing about.