Lecce vs Juventus: in-form hosts await Spalletti’s stretched side at the Via del Mare
Juventus face Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare this evening, and the fixture arrives at an awkward moment for Luciano Spalletti. His side are still looking for a first win since the 3-0 home defeat by Lazio, while Di Francesco’s Lecce come into Matchday 8 on the back of their most convincing result of the season.
Kick-off is at 18:00 Italian time, which is 17:00 in the UK and Ireland.
Lecce arrive in form after a statement win in Udine
Lecce travelled to Udinese last weekend and came away with a 3-0 victory. According to Flashscore, Kialonda Gaspar headed in the opener from a Gallo corner in the 14th minute, and N’Dri doubled the lead in the 25th minute after Tiago Gabriel had gone up for a header. Siebert added the third four minutes from time after a ball was won from Ekkelenkamp.
It was Lecce’s first win in Udine for six years and handed Udinese a fifth straight league defeat. Fatah also hit the crossbar, so the margin could have been even wider. For a side that has spent much of its recent history fighting at the wrong end of the table, it was a timely lift before the visit of Juventus.
Juventus still searching for a response
The picture is very different in Turin. The heavy home loss to Lazio was followed by a 2-2 draw with Rennes in the Europa League, and the injury list has kept growing. Zeki Celik and Nico Gonzalez are the latest names to drop out, as covered in our Celik and Nico Gonzalez injury update, and Spalletti chose not to give a pre-match press conference on Saturday.
The Lazio defeat in Turin left Juventus well short of the Serie A leaders, so Sunday is about more than one result. Three points in Puglia would ease some of the pressure that has built up over the past week.
The last time Juventus beat Lecce
Juventus do not have to look far back for a good memory of this trip. The club’s own retrospective recalls the Matchday 36 meeting at the Via del Mare in May 2026, when Dusan Vlahovic scored after just 12 seconds. Kenan Yildiz started the move, Teun Koopmeiners was involved in the build-up and Andrea Cambiaso delivered the ball for Vlahovic to finish into the roof of the net.
That game stayed lively. Michele Di Gregorio had to make a fine save at the other end, Francisco Conceicao struck the crossbar and Vlahovic had another good chance, all inside the first six minutes. Pierre Kalulu thought he had added a second with around half an hour to play, but VAR ruled it out for a marginal Vlahovic offside in the build-up. The early goal proved enough for the win.
Several of the players involved that day, including Yildiz and Conceicao, are now injured, which shows how much Spalletti’s options have changed since May.
Referee and where to watch
Tuttosport reports that Maresca will referee the match. In Italy it is live on DAZN and Sky. The United Kingdom the game is shown on DAZN UK and Prime Video UK, in Ireland on DAZN, and in the United States on Paramount+, fuboTV and Peacock, according to the club’s broadcast guide.
Sources: Juventus FC, Juventus FC broadcast guide, Flashscore
