Challenge at the Via Del Mare Stadium: Lecce faces Milan between hopes for
confirmation and the desire for redemption.
It’s a Friday evening loaded with pathos for Lecce and Milan fans: the calendar for Serie A 2025-26 features the first big test of the season for Di Francesco’s Lecce, with a clash against the Rossoneri, on Friday 29 August 2025 at 20:45 (Italian time), at the "Via del Mare" Stadium in Lecce.
Lecce, fresh from the historic achievement of a third consecutive survival last season, arrives at this second matchday with the will to build upon positive beginnings. On the other side, Milan is seeking balance and consistency. After an uncertain start, the Rossoneri have just opened the new campaign with a defeat, and come into Saturday’s fixture still with zero points. By contrast, Lecce has already earned a point, resulting
from a draw in the opening round.
It will be more than just a match for Lecce striker Francesco Camarda: playing against the club that developed him and sent him out on loan for experience won’t be easy. Camarda will have the chance to show his former supporters just how much his potential deserves the spotlight.
STATISTICS AND CURIOSITIES:
- Milan is one of two teams, along with Bologna, against whom Lecce has drawn
the most matches in Serie A: 13 draws out of 38 encounters, with two wins for
the Salentini and 23 for the Rossoneri.
- After winning the last three matches against Lecce in Serie A, Milan could
achieve at least four consecutive victories over the Salentini for only the second time in its top-flight history; the first was between November 1989 and August 1993 (five wins in that span).
- Lecce has won only one of their 19 home games against Milan in Serie A (10
draws, 8 defeats), the only victory dating back to April 1, 2006 (1-0, goal by Axel Konan with Roberto Rizzo as coach); since then, there have been four draws and three away wins, with both teams always scoring, for a goal average of 4.1 per game in that period.
- In the last championship, Milan began the season without a win in their first two matches (2-2 vs Torino, 1-2 vs Parma); only twice before have the Rossoneri lost both opening games in their Serie A history: in 2008/09 with Carlo Ancelotti and in 1986/87 with Nils Liedholm.
- Between the end of last season and the start of this one, Lecce has kept three consecutive clean sheets and could reach four matches in a row without
conceding for the first time ever in Serie A.
- Lecce won their last home match in Serie A (1-0 against Torino, last May 18) but didn’t win two consecutive home matches throughout last season; the last occurrence dates back to the first three home games of the 2023/24 season (three wins).
- In the opening match of this season, only Juventus (25) attempted more shots than Milan (24); for the third time this calendar year a team with at least that many (24) shots lost a Serie A game, and twice it happened to the Rossoneri, against Cremonese and Torino last February (26 shots).
- Francesco Camarda made 12 appearances for Milan over the last two Serie A
seasons and, among players from the top five European leagues who have
played more than 10 games since 2023/24, the Lecce forward is the youngest
(born March 2008).
- Lecce is Christian Pulisic’s favorite target in Serie A: four goals, including his only away brace in the competition, in their last meeting (Lecce vs Milan 2-3, 8 March 2025); overall, among the top five European leagues, he has only scored more against Crystal Palace (five).
- In the first match day of this season, only Jonathan David (five) created more chances from open play than Alexis Saelemaekers (four, same as Mërgim
Vojvoda); and only Arthur Atta (six) completed more successful dribbles than
the Belgian winger (four).
PREDICTIONS:
- AWAY TEAM MULTIGOALS 2-4
- DRAW OR MILAN WITH OVER 1.5 GOALS
- BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
