Preview: Leece vs Atalanta Prediction, lineups, betting tips & odds | Serie A 2025-26

Matchday 31 of the Italian top flight is set to be underway!

Lecce sit deep in the relegation zone at Stadio Comunale Via del Mare in Apulia, separated from safety only by goal difference as they trail Cremonese and sit a precarious few points behind Cagliari. Manager Eusebio Di Francesco enters this fixture fighting to avoid a third consecutive top-flight relegation, a record that would cement his status as one of the more unfortunate coaches in recent Italian football history.

Lecce come into this one having suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Roma, which extended their run to four losses in five matches. They have conceded in every fixture across that difficult stretch, which suggests a deeper structural defensive issue rather than a series of isolated mistakes. Offensively, they have scored just 13 Serie A goals from 20 matches this season, averaging 0.65 per game, compared to Atalanta’s 35 goals at 1.75 per match.

Preciso in buca d’angolo 🎯Il gol di @DZappacosta al Verona è il vostro GOTM di marzo 😮‍💨Right into the corner 🎯Zappacosta’s goal against Verona is your Goal of the Month 😮‍💨powered by snaifun #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/vMvHNCV4ER

— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) April 2, 2026

Atalanta, meanwhile, go to Apulia, frustratingly inconsistent under Raffaele Palladino, who replaced Ivan Juric earlier in the campaign. Their 1-0 win over Verona in their latest outing demonstrated they can grind results out, though losses against Bayern Munich in Europe exposed vulnerabilities that Serie A sides will study carefully.

Atalanta are shipping an average of 2.1 goals per game across their last ten fixtures, though against a Lecce attack this muted, the likelihood of a chaotic exchange of goals falls considerably. Historically, the most frequent scoreline at Via del Mare between these two sides is 0-2 across the last 12 home meetings, with Atalanta winning six of those encounters.

The visitors hold every statistical advantage, and Lecce’s survival instincts alone will not prove sufficient against a squad of superior quality, even one missing several first-choice defenders.

Kick-off:

• Location: Leece, Italy
• Stadium: Stadio Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare
• Date: Monday, April 6
• Kick-off Time: 6:30 PM IST
• Referee: Simone Sozza
• VAR: Federico La Penna

Form:

Leece: L-L-W-L-L

Atalanta: W-L-D-L-D

Players to watch out for:

Lameck Banda (Leece)

The Zambian winger is comfortably Lecce’s biggest threat from the left, and his output this season proves it. Banda averages 0.51 goal involvements per 90 minutes, tallying three goals and two assists across 19 Serie A games to sit at the top of the club’s scoring charts.

Even more impressive is his non-penalty expected goals (npxG) of 0.24 per 90, which ranks in the top 78th percentile of the league. These figures show just how dangerous he remains, even while playing for one of the division’s most struggling attacks. With Atalanta missing key defenders, Banda looks like the man most likely to find a breakthrough for the home side.

Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta)

The Belgian midfielder remains the primary engine behind Atalanta’s attack, and his underlying stats highlight exactly why he is so vital. De Ketelaere posts an expected assists (xA) figure of 0.26 per 90 minutes, better than 89% of all Serie A players, to go along with his three goals and three assists in 21 appearances.

He isn’t afraid to try his luck either, firing off 2.03 shots per 90 with 40% accuracy. Having taken 35 shots already this campaign, his constant presence in the final third makes him a nightmare to track for a Lecce defence that has struggled to keep clean sheets.

Match Facts:

• Across their previous 13 meetings, Atalanta have scored 28 goals to Lecce’s 12, and the two sides have averaged 3.08 goals per game together, yet Lecce’s league average this season stands at just 0.65 goals per match, making it deeply unlikely this fixture reaches anywhere near that historical benchmark.
• Lecce have conceded 40 goals in 30 Serie A matches this season, sitting 23 worse off than Atalanta’s tally of 27 against, meaning Nikola Krstovic, who left Lecce for Atalanta in the summer, now returns to Via del Mare as the man his former club can least afford to face.
• The last time these two sides met, the scoreline read Lecce 2–7 Atalanta, a result that makes Di Francesco’s side the only team in Serie A this season to have shipped seven goals in a single fixture against today’s opponents.

Leece vs Atalanta: Betting Tips and Odds

• Atalanta to win: 1.68 (Oddspedia)
• Under 2.5 goals: 1.82 (LeagueLane)
• Both teams to score – No: 1.72 (1xBet)

Injuries and Team News:

Both sides are missing several key players for this match. For Lecce, Gaspar (knee), Coulibaly (muscle, mid-April), Berisha (hamstring, early May), Camarda (shoulder, doubtful), and Sottil (muscle, mid-April) are all sidelined.

On the other side, Atalanta will be without Hien (thigh, mid-April) and Scamacca (muscle, doubtful). Losing Scamacca is a big blow for the visitors, especially since Lecce has been struggling at the back lately.

Head-To-Head stats:

• Total matches: 29
• Leece wins: 7
• Atalanta wins: 13
• Draws: 9

Predicted Starting Lineups:

Lecce Predicted Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Wladimiro Falcone; Danilo Veiga, Jamil Siebert, Tiago Gabriel, Antonino Gallo; Oumar Ngom, Ylber Ramadani; Santiago Pierotti, Omri Gandelman, Lameck Banda; Nikola Stulic

Atalanta Predicted Starting Lineup (3-4-2-1):

Marco Carnesecchi; Giorgio Scalvini, Berat Djimsiti, Sead Kolasinac; Davide Zappacosta, Marten de Roon, Éderson, Lorenzo Bernasconi; Charles De Ketelaere, Nicola Zalewski; Nikola Krstovic

Match Prediction:

Atalanta should take this one comfortably. They are statistically better in every department and hold a massive 13-win lead in the all-time head-to-head record. When you combine that with Lecce losing four of their last five games, it is hard to see any other result. On top of that, Lecce are without Gaspar, Berisha, Coulibaly, and Sottil all at once. Without those key players, their defence will likely struggle to keep up with the likes of De Ketelaere and Krstovic.

Predicted Scoreline: Lecce 0–2 Atalanta 

Telecast Details

India: DAZN

Italy: Sky Sports, DAZN

UK: DAZN

USA: Paramount+, DAZN

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