Napoli vs. Pisa
Second-placed Napoli welcome newly promoted Pisa to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Monday evening for the fourth round of Serie A, with the starting position clear: Antonio Conte’s team has made a perfect start to the season with nine points from three games, while Pisa, under Alberto Gilardino, is still waiting for its first win. After a 2-0 defeat at Manchester City in the Champions League, Napoli return to their home stadium, with captain Di Lorenzo available again despite his early red card against City, as the suspension only applies to European competitions. The visitors from Pisa are in 18th place in the table with just one point and are still searching for the right formula for Italy’s top flight, with Gilardino once again criticizing his side’s lack of firepower in attack after their recent 1-0 defeat to Udinese.
- Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli
- Date and time: 09/22/2025, 8:45 p.m.
- Competition: Serie A (Matchday 4)
Napoli form & record check
Napoli has made a perfect start to the new Serie A season with three wins from its first three league games and currently sits in second place in the table, just one point behind Juventus and level on points with Milan. The recent Champions League defeat to Manchester City does not reflect the Azzurri’s true form, as the 2-0 loss at the Etihad was mainly due to Di Lorenzo’s early red card. Despite being a man down, Napoli held on to a 0-0 draw at halftime, demonstrating their defensive stability. Antonio Conte’s influence is already evident in the team’s style of play: the Neapolitans have not conceded a single goal in the first half of any league game so far, and their 3-1 win in Florence was their best performance of the season so far, lasting over 70 minutes. Lukaku’s absence until December is undoubtedly a blow, but Højlund has settled in quickly and already scored on his debut against Fiorentina. De Bruyne also strengthened Napoli’s midfield, even if his comeback against City ended early after coming on as a substitute. Conte’s system is working, with three wins by at least one goal difference, while the team has been virtually flawless in the league so far.
Coach Conte is likely to stick with his tried-and-tested 4-1-4-1 formation after its recent convincing performances. Lukaku’s absence due to his thigh injury opens up the chance for Højlund to start up front after the Dane scored on his debut against Fiorentina. Milinković-Savić could get the nod in goal ahead of Meret, while the back four of Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, and Spinazzola should provide a solid foundation. In central midfield, Lobotka is likely to take on the playmaker role, flanked by the two eights McTominay and Anguissa. De Bruyne and Politano would occupy the attacking wide positions.
Pisa Form & Record Check
Pisa is currently going through a difficult phase in Serie A and is in 18th place in the table with only one point after three matchdays. The recent defeat against Udinese last weekend clearly highlighted the problems facing Alberto Gilardino’s team: in the 0-1 defeat against the Friulians, the Nerazzurri created chances, but Moreo and Meister failed to convert them. The team fell behind early on through Iker Bravo and, despite some promising play, failed to find a way back into the game, with Moreo’s missed solo effort particularly frustrating. The record after three league games is sobering: a respectable 1-1 draw in Bergamo against Atalanta was followed by two narrow home defeats against AS Roma and Udinese. Pisa failed to score in any of these games and has yet to find its rhythm in attack, prompting coach Gilardino to call for more determination in the final third. The offensive problem is clearly evident in the statistics, as Pisa failed to score in the first halves of all five of its most recent games, with four of the five games ending with fewer than 2.5 goals. However, being just one point behind Genoa could still prove to be important.
Coach Gilardino is likely to field his tried-and-tested 3-4-2-1 system. After the narrow 0-1 defeat to Udinese, in which the team missed numerous scoring opportunities, the coach could make some personnel changes. Semper is expected to be between the posts, while Canestrelli, Caracciolo, and Lusuardi are expected to stabilize the defense in a back three. In midfield, Akinsanmiro could provide creativity alongside Aebischer, while Touré and Angori will provide width on the flanks. Cuadrado’s absence due to muscle problems noticeably weakens the offense. Tramoni and Moreo are expected to play behind striker Meister, after both recently missed good chances.
H2H Napoli – Pisa Head-to-head comparison & statistics
As Napoli and Pisa have never met before, there are no historical encounters between these two teams to analyze. Tomorrow’s clash at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona will therefore be the first direct meeting in the history of both clubs. This means that both teams will go into this game without any experience to draw on, with neither tactical patterns from past encounters nor psychological factors from the recent past playing a role. For Antonio Conte and Alberto Gilardino, it will be a matter of preparing their teams optimally for a completely unknown opponent, which gives both sides equal starting chances in their preparations.
The tip for under 3.5 goals is based on Napoli’s new-found solidity under Conte, which has already produced three clean sheet victories in Serie A, while Pisa has also remained below this mark in four of its last five league games. The data shows that Pisa’s offense has been completely toothless so far, never scoring more than one goal this season. The second tip for a Napoli win to nil is bolstered by Di Lorenzo’s return from his Champions League suspension, allowing Conte to once again call on his captain in defense. Pisa has scored only once away from home and looks particularly uninspired in attack without the injured Cuadrado. A riskier option is Højlund as first goalscorer, especially as the Dane already scored on his Serie A debut against Florence and is now likely to benefit from De Bruyne’s creativity. This combination makes particular sense as Pisa have conceded the first goal in three of their last five games and Lukaku’s injury sees Højlund return to the starting line-up.
