2026-2027 Coppa Italia: Palermo vs. Lecce, Probable Lineups

Two of Southern Italy’s most iconic teams, Palermo and Lecce, face off on Monday evening at 9:15 p.m. in the first round of the 2026–2027 Coppa Italia. The match will be played at the Rosanero’s home stadium, the “Renzo Barbera” Stadium: the winner advances to the second round, where they will face surprise contender Mantova at home—a team that stunned fans and experts alike by defeating Lazio 2-0 on Sunday night.

Pippo Inzaghi’s Palermo is coming off a tour of Australia, where it recorded a 2-0 victory over Melbourne City, thanks to goals by Le Douaron and Peda, and a 2-0 loss to Juventus, with Yildiz and Milik scoring for the Bianconeri. Palermo’s previous preseason matches show two victories (8-0 against Gherdeina, 7-0 against Paradiso), were held to draws by Nuremberg (2-2) and Iraklis (1-1), and were defeated by Ingolstadt (1-0).

For Lecce, the talk has centered more on the transfer market—specifically the “Banda case”—than on on-field performance, a situation still far from resolution. The Salento-based team, still led by head coach Eusebio Di Francesco, has recorded three wins (1-0 against Haladas, 5-2 over NK Bistrica, and 1-0 against Monopoli in their most recent match, on August 9), drawn with Istra 1961 (2-2), and suffered their only loss against Politehnica Timisoara (1-0).

Probable Lineups

PALERMO (4-2-3-1): Joronen; Pierozzi, Bani, Magnani, Augello; Estevez, Ranocchia; Gyasi, Hernani, Johnsen; Pohjanpalo. Coach: Inzaghi.

LECCE (4-3-3): Falcone; Veiga, Gaspar, Tiago Gabriel, Gallo; Maleh, Ngom, Coulibaly; N’Dri, Geubbels, Pierotti. Coach: Di Francesco.