Stats and trivia ahead of Inter vs. Lecce

MILAN - We’re ready for the start of the season with Inter vs. Lecce and San Siro will be up for the occasion.

It will be eight years since Inter last faced Lecce at San Siro. It was 21 December 2011 and the Nerazzurri won 4-1 thanks to goals from Pazzini, Milito, Cambiasso and Alvarez.

The first match of the 2019-20 Serie A season will be the 30th league clash with Lecce. Inter have won 23, drawn three and lost four. The Nerazzurri have scored 70 goals while Lecce have found the net 17 times. At home, Inter have won 14 out of 15 prior meetings.

The first match of the season, especially against a newly-promoted side, is always a tough fixture. Inter have a positive record however when kicking off at San Siro. In the previous 15 home openers, there have been 12 wins and three draws. The biggest home win against Lecce was 6-0 on 21 November 1999.

Lecce will be playing their first Serie A match for seven years after two consecutive promotions lifted them from Serie C to Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku is among the new signings for Inter. The forward is one of only two players to have scored at least 10 Premier League goals in the past seven seasons along with Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero. He hit 113 goals in 252 appearances. Lukaku could become the third Belgian to score for Inter after Enzo Scifo and Radja Nainggolan.

Antonio Conte’s debut as a player in Serie A was for Lecce in the 1985-86 season. The current Nerazzurri Coach has twice faced the side from Salento as a Coach, winning the away game and drawing at home.

Lecce Coach Fabio Liverani has coached one game against Inter in Serie A. That was a 2-0 away defeat for Genoa in August 2013 in his first game as a top-flight Coach.