PREVIEW JUVE VS LECCE

It’s crisis time at Juventus and they come up against a Lecce side gambling with its last chances of survival.

Claudio Ranieri is facing calls to resign and a very public hunt for his successor in the media following the failure to capture any of their targets this season. The Bianconeri are out of the Champions League, Coppa Italia, Scudetto hunt and have now fallen two points adrift of Milan, so even the consolation of second place is at risk.

The dissection of the squad has already begun with inquests in the papers to find what is Juve’s ‘problem’. It is hardly the right atmosphere to go into the final five games, especially when they haven’t won a single match since the 4-1 triumph at Roma in Week 29. It might almost be a blessing that they will play this tie behind closed doors, as punishment for the racist abuse targeted at Inter’s Mario Balotelli.

Ranieri infuriated fans when he left Sebastian Giovinco in the stands last week in the 2-2 draw at bottom of the table Reggina, especially as captain Alessandro Del Piero was also substituted. Alex has made it clear he is not happy with the way the season is going and it will be interesting to see what front line the Coach picks this time. Vincenzo Iaquinta is on fine form, while Amauri and David Trezeguet have now recovered from injury.

Still out of action are Momo Sissoko, Hasan Salihamidzic, Albin Ekdal, Giorgio Chiellini, Dario Knezevic, Christian Molinaro, Claudio Marchisio and possibly Nicola Legrottaglie. This means youth team defender Lorenzo Ariaudo again looks set to start at centre-back with Olof Mellberg. Mauro Camoranesi and Tiago Mendes will feature after recent bans and Cristiano Zanetti, who scored his first Serie A goal in five years against Reggina, may be ready to start after a three-month lay-off.

Lecce, on the other hand, are riding on the enthusiasm of their first victory under Coach Gigi De Canio. The 2-1 over Catania last week was their first on home turf since September 28 and ended a 14-round winless streak. Curiously, the Salentini seem to raise their game in the toughest environments, as the last win before that was 2-1 away to Fiorentina and they gave Roma a real scare a fortnight ago with their 3-2 loss at the Olimpico.

Luca Ariatti returns from suspension, though the injury list still includes Daniele Cacia, Antunes, Angelo, Fabio Caserta and Ndiaye Papa Waigo. Considering the difficulty of this match, De Canio could opt for a very defensive formation with Guillermo Giacomazzi supporting lone striker Simone Tiribocchi rather than Javier Castillo, Axel Konan or Dimitrios Papadopoulos. Konan would be a good choice, though, as he was the star of the show when Lecce won 4-3 in Turin on April 25, 2004, scoring two goals.

Juventus had trouble with Lecce earlier this season, scraping a 2-1 result in stoppages thanks to Amauri’s header. Giovinco had also scored in that game and will be eager to get the chance to face them again. The Salentini have not beaten Juve in any of their last seven meetings – home or away – and conceded 20 goals when scoring six.

Keep an eye on: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus) – Camo has often been the joy and despair of Juve this season, capable of creating goals out of nowhere and of picking up two consecutive red cards. Which version will turn up this weekend?