2026–2027 Preseason Friendlies: Lecce vs. Istra 1961, Probable Lineups

This will be the third consecutive match against a foreign team for Eusebio Di Francesco’s Lecce, which—after defeating Hungary’s Haladas 1-0 and losing by the same score to the Romanian team Politehnica Timisoara, face Istra 1961, a team from the Croatian top division, on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Salento-based team is aiming to get into match shape as quickly as possible, especially since their first official match is less than a month away: on August 17, they’ll face Palermo on the road in the Coppa Italia’s round of 32. Six days later, however, the league season kicks off, again on the road, against Venezia.

Istra 1961 recently played a friendly against another Italian team, Udinese, drawing 2-2. A few days later, they defeated their compatriots from Orijent 5-2 in another unofficial match, with goals from Ahmeti, Bangura, Ukich, Frederiksen (on a penalty kick), and Miettinen.

Probable Lineups

LECCE (3-4-2-1): Falcone; Siebert, Thiago Gabriel, Ndaba; Laerke, Gorter, Kovac, Onyemachi; Pierotti, Maleh; Stulic. Head Coach: Di Francesco.

ISTRA 1961 (4-4-2): Kolic; Kumar, Sepic, Miettinen, Hrvatin; Saranic, Ayuma, Kablar, Frederiksen; Skafar, Jaganjac. Coach: Cabello.