Lecce vs Inter Milan

Reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan head to Stadio Via del Mare to take on perennial strugglers Lecce. 

Dropping a first-half lead in a 4-1 defeat at Cagliari last weekend plunged Lecce’s underwhelming league campaign into further chaos as they entered this round only a point clear of the bottom three. Only two victories from seven league outings since the start of December can’t inspire much confidence (D2, L4) ahead of Inter’s visit. Indeed, ‘I Giallorossi’ have suffered more defeats in Serie A versus Inter (29) than against any other side while only winning four of their 37 historic H2Hs in this competition (D4). It’s almost impossible to back Marco Giampaolo’s side to turn those fortunes around with conviction, even though they’ve only lost once across their last six home league games (W2, D3), including a 1-1 draw against record-time champions Juventus.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan made a pivotal step toward securing automatic last-16 qualification in the Champions League with a narrow 1-0 win at Sparta Prague, extending their unbeaten run to four matches (W3, D1) after a Supercoppa Italiana heartbreak against AC Milan. Simone Inzaghi’s side thumped bottom-half Empoli 3-1 last weekend to stay within striking distance of table-topping Napoli but can’t afford to rest on their laurels if they’re to win back-to-back Serie A titles for the first time in over a decade. Playing outside Giuseppe Meazza should not faze ‘I Nerazzurri,’ considering they’ve emerged victorious from their last seven away league matches, including five consecutive wins ‘to nil’ for the first time in the club’s history. As such, they are in pole position to post their fifth successive H2H victory without conceding.