Serie A: Roma vs. Lecce – Probable line-ups and where to watch on TV
Roma are without key players in Wesley Franca and Manu Kone for the visit of Lecce in Serie A on Sunday evening, as Gian Piero Gasperini and his players look to bounce back from their midweek Europa League exit.
The Giallorossi were knocked out after a 4-3 thriller in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie against Italian opponents Bologna on Thursday night, but must immediately turn their attention back on the race for a place in the Champions League positions in Serie A on Sunday.
Roma find themselves in sixth with 51 points ahead of kick-off, with ground to make up on Como, in fourth on 54 points and Juventus, currently in fifth, also on 54 points after their 1-1 draw against Sassuolo on Saturday night.
Lecce also find themselves needing a result to lift themselves out of the relegation zone. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side were leapfrogged by Cremonese on Saturday after their 2-0 win away against Parma and are currently in 18th on 27 points as a result.
Gasperini will have to do without the suspended Wesley, who was controversially sent off against Como last weekend, and Kone, who was injured against Bologna on Thursday and is expected to miss around a month of action. Injuries have not let up in attack either, with Paulo Dybala, Matias Soule, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson all still unavailable.
That leaves Gasperini extra reliant on January recruits Donyell Malen and Robinio Vaz, who could start in tandem in attack against Lecce according to reports from Sky Sport Italia. Neil El Aynaoui is expected to come into the midfield in place of the injured Kone.
Lecce are not expected to make any major changes despite their 2-1 defeat against Napoli last weekend, but could potentially introduce Omri Gandelman into the midfield according to the latest updates.
Kick-off is due at 17.00 GMT.
Roma vs. Lecce: Probable line-ups
Roma (3-4-1-2): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Ghilardi; Celik, El Aynaoui, Cristante, Tsimikas; Pellegrini; Vaz, Malen.
Lecce (4-2-3-1): Falcone; Veiga, Siebert, Gabriel, Gallo; Gandelman, Ramadani; Pierotti, Ngom, Banda; Stulic.
Where to watch Roma vs. Lecce
Today’s game will be available to watch live in the UK exclusively on DAZN. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+.
Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.