Inter kick off their 2019/2020 campaign against Lecce at home in front of 65000 fans.
Many eyes will be on Inter after their busy summer transfer window, with the biggest change being the arrival of Antonio Conte to replace Luciano Spalletti.
New signings will always be under pressure, in particular Romelu Lukaku, who became the most expensive player in Inter’s history after a staggering €78M transfer fee to get the Belgian from Manchester United.
Inter has had an overall good preseason, with the star of it being Stefano Sensi showing why he deserves a spot in Conte’s team. Also, despite their disappointing performances last season, Candreva and Dalbert have shown great signs of improvement under the supervision of the ex-Chelsea coach.
On the other hand, Lecce have just been promoted back to Serie A for the first time in 8 years. The team will have a very tough first game against Inter away but despite several injuries, Lecce can still make Antonio Conte’s life much harder with the help of their star Gianluca Lapadula.
Match Facts and Stats:
- Inter have won 14 out of 15 encounters against Lecce at Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, with the only loss going back to November of 2000.
- The last time the Nerazzurri lost an opening game at home against a newly promoted side was back in 1992.
- Inter have won 4 of their last 8 opening games(4W,1D,3L).
- Lecce have never won their opening game in Serie A.
Team News:
Inter:
Godin is still out due to a pulled muscle in his left thigh.
Despite returning from injury, it is reported that Conte will not risk starting with Lazaro and will instead play Candreva in his position.
The former captain, Mauro Icardi, is rumored to not even get a spot on the bench as Inter are still actively trying to find a buyer for the Argentinian striker.
Predicted XI(3-5-2): Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, De Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Sensi, Brozovic, Vecino, Asamoah; Lautaro, Lukaku
Lecce:
Meccariello, Mancosu, Fiamozzi and Benzar will all miss the match due to injuries
Predicted XI(4-3-1-2): Gabriel; Rispoli, Rossettini, Lucioni, Calderoni; Petriccione, Tachtsidis, Majer; Shakhov; Falco, Lapadula.
