Six midfielders are fighting for two places in Raffaele Palladino's 3-4-3 before Bologna visit Lecce in Lecce vs Bologna. Lewis Ferguson and Nikola Moro sit near the centre of the decision, while the wider issue is how much room this squad really has to get its shape right.

Palladino's midfield squeeze

The numbers tell the story quickly enough. Bologna have six players competing for two pure midfield spots, which leaves Palladino with a proper selection problem rather than a depth issue.

Ferguson has already made five appearances this season and played all four Nations League matches with Scotland, so his workload has not been light. Moro has four appearances and a 6.58 rating, and he and Pobega spent three weeks working at Casteldebole.

That combination points to a midfield group that has not settled yet. Matteo Darmian has already been included in the squad after his signing was made official on Thursday, but the key call remains which two of the midfielders can carry the system best at Via del Mare. Riccardo Orsolini, Nikola Štulić, P. Esteban and Tiago Gabriel are among the other names around the fixture, but Palladino's main issue is still in central areas.

Lecce and Bologna's start to the season

The league table adds another layer. Bologna sit 19th in Serie A with 2 points from 5 matches, while Lecce are 12th on 6 points from 5 games.

Bologna were held to a 1-1 draw by Torino after leading for more than an hour, and they have scored only 3 league goals in 5 rounds. Lecce were beaten 3-0 by AC Milan before the international break and have 5 league goals from the same number of matches.

The home record is harder to ignore. Lecce have not had a Serie A home win over Bologna since November 2001, so the visitors are dealing with both a selection puzzle and a venue that has not often favoured the hosts in this specific meeting. Bologna's slow start makes the midfield choice even more important, because the balance in that area is already doing a lot of the work.

The answer on Saturday should come down to whether Palladino trusts the more established pair or leans toward the players who have had more recent time at Casteldebole. Either way, the two midfield spots will be the first place to watch at Via del Mare.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →