Lecce vs Atalanta

Stadio Via del Mare is the venue as Lecce and Atalanta face off against each other in their opening 2024/25 Serie A encounter.

Alongside Inter Milan, Lecce were the only team to start last season on a five-match unbeaten run. But while the former lifted the Scudetto, ‘I Giallorossi’ finished in the bottom half of the table, only three points clear of the drop zone. Lecce went through a managerial change toward the end of the 2023/24 season, replacing Roberto D’Aversa for headbutting Verona striker Thomas Henry with Luca Gotti. Gotti’s tenure started with three wins across his first five games in charge (D1, L1) but ended on a five-game winless streak (D3, L2), suggesting another challenging season could be on the cards. Among those failed attempts to grab three points was a 2-0 defeat to Atalanta in this corresponding fixture in May, marking Lecce’s third loss across their last four H2Hs at this venue (W1).

On the other hand, Atalanta secured their fourth top-four finish in six years and first after two seasons last term to return to the Champions League. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men would’ve got back to Europe’s top table anyway, courtesy of beating Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final for their first piece of silverware in over 60 years. But the 2024/25 campaign was off to a disappointing start for ‘La Dea’ as Real Madrid got the better of them 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup final. The visitors will look for a more favorable outcome at the start of the new Serie A season, especially after finishing the previous one as the division’s third most-prolific team with 72 goals. There’s ample room for improvement on the road, where their league record read W8, D4, L7 last term.