Lecce boosted their survival hopes with four points from last two league games, but Salentini are still far away from safety and, therefore, have got to try and get something from this game. That could prove to be mission impossible seeing that Inter have won last seven Serie A games.

Six points adrift of safety

Lecce are the usual suspects when it comes to Serie A relegation race, but after they narrowly managed to escape the drop over the last few seasons, the Salentini may not be so lucky this time. Lecce slipped into the bottom three just few weeks into the league campaign and they have remained there ever since, showing that they don’t have enough quality to survive this season. The Salentini have somewhat improved their league position with the lucky win over Fiorentina, while they were also very fortunate to escape defeat in the home game against Siena, having come from two goals behind and scored an injury-time goal to salvage a point. While showing some potential in the clashes against fellow strugglers, Lecce have been utterly disappointing every time they faced one of the title contenders, with home defeats to Udinese, Milan, Lazio and Juventus the perfect proof. Do you honestly believe they will fare any better against red-hot Inter?

Daniele Corvia is doubtful with a foot injury, whereas Manuel Giandonato, Moris Carrozzieri, Rodney Strasser, Andrea Esposito and Andrea Bertolaci are all sidelined. Most of these players are considered first team regulars.

Can anyone stop Inter?

Things were looking pretty gloomy for Inter at the start to the season, as coach Gian Piero Gasperini struggled to get the maximum out of his players, but soon after Claudio Ranieri took over the reigns, the results started improving. The former Chelsea boss needed some time to stabilize the team and get them playing to their potential, but once the transition period was over, Inter just couldn’t be recognized. The Neroazzurri not only considerably improved their league position, but even managed to return to the title race, which is an amazing feat for the side that were very close to the relegation zone after nine Serie A rounds. Inter’s eight-match winning run did come to an end as the Neroazzurri were beaten by Napoli in Coppa Italia, but Claudio Ranieri intentionally sacrificed that game in order to help the team continue with impressive results in the Serie A campaign.

Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder could start, but Sulley Muntari, Diego Forlan and Dejan Stankovic remain sidelined.

Verdict

Lecce have lost every single home game against the title contenders this season, so I see no reason to believe that will change when they play host to Inter. The Neroazzurri are on top of their game at the moment and they should be able to record a comfortable victory at Via del Mare.

Our prediction: Inter with -0.75 Asian handicap

Odds: 1.85 (17/20)

Bookmaker: 188BET