We have three Serie A games on Saturday to enjoy, and they begin with a big relegation tussle where Lecce host Empoli. The home side are in 14th and three points clear of the relegation zone, while Empoli are below them in 16th and just two points clear. As we approach the final weeks of the season, both will be looking to add to their points totals.
Lecce Form GuideLecce are four places above the relegation zone, and I think they will be safe but when you look at the points totals, they are right in the mix. With 29 points, thanks to six wins and 11 draws, I do think they will be ok, but Frosinone, in 18th, are just three behind and Sassuolo, in 19th, are only four behind.
They come here on the back of a loss on Saturday, but that was away to AC Milan, the form team in the league at the moment and currently second in the standings. Before that, they took a point in a good draw with Roma and won 1-0 away at Salernitana. If there is a negative right now, then it is definitely goals, or lack of them, as Lecce have scored just once in their last four and twice in their last eight games.
Empoli Form GuideEmpoli have been sliding down the table for a number of weeks now, and although they managed to stop that at the weekend, I still see them as one of the main contenders to be relegated this season. With 28 points they are two clear of the bottom three, but did pick up a huge three points last weekend to rescue their position.
That win was a 3-2 success over Torino last Saturday, vitally needed. Before that, they went on a run of four losses in a row, and to make it worse for them, they failed to score in them all. Inter Milan, Bologna, AC Milan and Cagliari were the four teams to beat them.
Match PredicitonI think this will be really tight, with few scoring opportunities, and both teams come here with troubles finding the back of the net to make that worse. I am going to give a small edge to Lecce, they are my pick to win this game as I think their recent form has been slightly better than Empoli.
