After the victorious match against Empoli, Lecce awaits another fundamental stage in the race for salvation. In fact, tomorrow the treacherous away match in Reggio Emilia is scheduled, the city that the Salento players will visit to face Sassuolo. Contrary to the predictions on the eve of the tournament, to date in the championship the Giallorossi are in better shape, boasting a five point advantage over the third from last (Frosinone) while the Neroverdi are relegated to penultimate place, 6 points behind Lecce. Luca Gotti’s men could therefore just emerge unscathed from the trip to Emilia Romagna to get closer to their final objective. From a technical point of view, however, it will not be an easy match. In the Giallorossi home, Ramadani’s withdrawal is very likely (he was completely rested yesterday too), until now the beacon of the Giallorossi midfield thanks to the previous technical management of Roberto D’Aversa as with Gotti’s current one. Since his arrival in Salento, the Venetian coach has opted for the use of a midfielder which, regardless of their initial positioning, rested on the double screen formed by Ramadani and Blin. LThe Albanian’s absence would therefore force the Lecce coach to rethink the crucial area of the pitch.
Without Ramadani he could find space from the first minute Joan González. In the three games under Gotti’s guidance the Catalan has averaged just 24.6 minutes per game. Ramadani’s absence, increasingly probable, could therefore open the doors to a new ownership for the former Barcelona canterano. Against Milan, González’s last match starting in the starting eleven, the boy had shown good things over time. Thanks to Kaba’s injury, Lecce has no other defensive midfielders in their squad besides Ramadani and Blin. However, González can play his part even when not in possession. The choices in attack are also difficult for Gotti, where Lameck Banda (who also underwent therapy yesterday) and Pontus Almqvist (suspended) will be missing. It will be interesting to see if the Lecce coach will propose the solution with Dorgu as a high winger, on the left or right. In this case, Oudin and Sansone will compete for the other shirt of the offensive trident. The Frenchman isn’t going through a great moment of form but he remains the best option when it comes to free kicks. For his part, Sansone showed with the goal he scored against Empoli that he can be useful to the cause. A more offensive solution cannot be ruled out either with the former Bolognese player as an attacking midfielder and Oudin on the wing, perhaps ready to swap positions as needed. All this without forgetting Krstovic’s return from disqualification. The Montenegrin should find himself back in the starting lineup at the center of the attack, which would push Piccoli to the bench.
Unless Gotti chooses to propose the Mandzukic-style solution with Piccoli, i.e. a high attacking winger. Added to these options is another, the one that would see Santiago Pierotti starting for the first time. The Argentine has in fact made just five appearances so far, all coming off the bench. The desire, altruism and quality shown in the decisive goal against Empoli would make him deserve a chance from the first minute. Whether as a winger or behind the central striker remains to be seen. The latter seems to be the position that best suits Pierotti and therefore the one in which Pilar’s boy could carve out an important end to the season, both for him and for the team. In summary, in the case of 4-2-3-1 Gotti has Dorgu, Pierotti, Sansone, Oudin and Piccoli available for the three shirts to be assigned to the players who will rotate under Krstovic. As you can see, there is plenty in attack. It is now up to Gotti himself to find the best formula to face Sassuolo.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
Puglia Newspaper
