Lecce forward Federico Di Francesco is under no illusions that Sunday’s away match against Inter will be anything other than a massively difficult ask for he and his teammates.

Speaking in a press conference, as reported by FCInterNews, the 28-year-old also gave the view that it is unfair that the Puglian team will have to be without their travelling supporters for this weekend’s match due to a ban.

Lecce’s very first opponent this season, their first season back in Serie A after promotion last campaign, were Inter.

At their own stadium, the Giallorossi almost managed to hold on for a point with a tough and organized display, but their hearts were broken late on by a last-gasp Denzel Dumfries winner.

In the months since, the Puglians have established a foothold for themselves in the Serie A table, where they are currently comfortably clear of the relegation places, but facing the Nerazzurri again promises to be a big challenge.

“We’re coming up against a phenomenal team, we have complete humility and know that we have to give 110% if we’re to have a chance of getting a result,” Di Francesco said.

“It will be difficult, but we’ll use this week to try and prepare for it so that we can cause Inter problems,” he added.

“We know that we’re coming up against a top team with top players, we have to stay completely switched-on and then play the way that we’ve shown we’re able to against the top teams.”

Di Francesco also lamented the ban on travelling Lecce supporters handed out by authorities, stating that “Their support is important to us, let’s hope that something changes between now and Sunday.”

“We know that this match would mean a lot to them, and they could well already have been planning the trip to Milan with their families,” he added.