Only three points separate 17th from 19th place when Genoa host Pisa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on matchday 18, and it is precisely this relegation pressure that will shape Saturday’s game. Daniele De Rossi’s team are on 14 points, just ahead of their visitors from Tuscany. Interestingly, Genoa are unbeaten against Pisa in recent league history, with a 0-0 draw at this stadium in Serie B two seasons ago and a 1-0 away win earlier that season. Both teams are coming off setbacks. Genoa have lost three consecutive Serie A games, most recently a 3-1 defeat at Roma after a poor first half, while Pisa were competitive but lost 2-0 at Juventus, hitting the woodwork twice. But with only three points separating the teams and plans for the January transfer window looming, this clash could feel like an early decider in the relegation battle. Over the season as a whole, Pisa’s 11 points and goal difference of minus 12 are consistent with a promoted side fighting for survival, even if one win in 16 falls well short of Gilardino’s expectations. Genoa, with 14 points and a goal difference of minus ten, as well as the recent failed attempt to sign goalkeeper Perin, is also disappointing, which adds extra fuel to this direct duel.
- Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
- Date and time: January 3, 2026, 3:00 p.m.
- Competition: Serie A (matchday 18)
Nevertheless, the visitors have only one league win to their name, recently put Juventus under pressure but failed to score, and now have to do without Nzola and Akinsanmiro. At the same time, Genoa’s cautious offense, combined with their defeat in Rome, points to a nervous, low-scoring home game.
Genoa Form & Record Check
Genoa go into the game against Pisa on the back of four defeats in their last five games in all competitions, three of them in Serie A. The most recent defeat was a 3-1 loss in Rome, where a brutal first half saw the team fall three goals behind before Ekhator scored a consolation goal. De Rossi’s team started passively again, sat too deep, and struggled with Roma’s pressing and runs from midfield. Before that, home defeats to Atalanta 1-0 and Inter 2-1 had already shown how thin the margins are. The only bright spot in December was the 2-1 win at Udinese, when Genoa showed more intensity and verticality, but that reaction did not continue in the Coppa Italia, where the 4-0 collapse at Atalanta exposed their vulnerability as soon as the opposition increased the tempo. Statistically, the trend is clear: Genoa have won one and drawn none of their last five games, conceding a goal in each of those matches. Most encounters have ended with more than 2.5 goals, suggesting not only defensive problems but also a fairly open structure. Interestingly, De Rossi’s aggressive pressing ideas at the back and in midfield may not yet be accompanied by the necessary coordination. Personnel problems have not helped. With Siegrist injured, Leali has carried the goalkeeping load, and Genoa’s failed attempt to sign Perin underscores the desire for more security in goal. Onana is away with his national team and Messias is missing, so creativity will have to come from Carboni, Malinovskyi, or Cornet. Frendrup remains a tireless presence, although his yellow card in Rome showed that frustration is building. In the table, Genoa are in 17th place with 14 points, just above the relegation zone. Verona are two points behind and Lecce are only two points ahead, so the gaps are minimal. With no draws in their recent league run, games tend to swing completely in one direction, and De Rossi must now convert this volatility into controlled, points-winning performances, starting against Pisa.
For their next Serie A outing, Genoa are expected to stick with a back three in our predicted line-up under De Rossi, with Sommariva in goal behind a trio of Østigård, Otoa, and Vásquez. Norton-Cuffy and Martín should operate as aggressive wing-backs, allowing the formation to drop into a back five when under pressure. In midfield, we see Frendrup in the center, with Malinovskyi and Grønbæk providing creativity and goal threat, while Vitinha should link up with Ekuban in attack, combining movement and physicality. With Siegrist out with a broken finger, Onana away with his national team, and Messias missing due to a calf injury, Carboni, Cornet, and Colombo appear to be the most likely options to come off the bench.
Pisa Form & Record Check
Pisa travels to Genoa in a difficult phase, with their league record under close scrutiny. The team is in 19th place with 11 points, just one point behind Verona and two ahead of Fiorentina, so they remain in the thick of the relegation battle. They have collected just one point from their last five Serie A games, a 2-2 draw at Cagliari, and remain stuck on just one win this season. Home defeats to Inter, Parma, and Juventus, all without scoring, underline a team that can control the game at times but poses limited threat in the box. The defeat to Juventus was somewhat misleading, as Pisa hit the woodwork twice, but after Kalulu scored, the team lost their composure and were caught out again by Yildiz in stoppage time. The only real spark in attack in this run came in the draw at Cagliari. Statistically, Pisa’s recent league record has been marked by late collapses. They have conceded in each of their last five games and lost the second half in four of those. The first halves are tight, with no more than one goal before the break in recent games, but Pisa fade after that, which could indicate physical problems or a lack of concentration in Gilardino’s team. Akinsanmiro’s resurgence before his Africa Cup of Nations call-up had given Pisa energy in midfield, so his absence, along with striker Nzola, takes away two important reference points in an already unreliable squad. Marin, Tramoni, and Stengs now carry a lot of creative responsibility, while teenager Buffon has been a rare positive contribution. The margins are narrow for a promoted team, and this form jeopardizes an otherwise coherent project.
Pisa are likely to stick with Alberto Gilardino’s back three in a 3-5-2, so our predicted line-up sees Semper in goal, protected by Calabresi, Caracciolo, and Canestrelli. Leris and Angori are expected to operate as aggressive wingbacks, while Toure, Aebischer, and Vural form a compact central trio. Up front, Moreo and Tramoni are expected to start as a mobile duo rather than as fixed target players. This is a projected starting eleven, and injuries will shape it. Akinsanmiro is with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, which means the loss of a midfielder in whom Gilardino has recently placed increasing trust. Nzola is also in his national team’s squad and is unlikely to be available. Stengs, Meister, Lorran, and teenager Buffon could come off the bench if Pisa find themselves trailing.
Genoa – Pisa Head-to-Head & Statistics
In the last two meetings, both in Serie B, Genoa had the clear upper hand. The Genoese won 1-0 at Pisa in 2022 and followed that up with a 0-0 draw at home in 2023. Genoa thus picked up four points from a possible six, kept two clean sheets, and Pisa is still waiting for its first goal in this mini-duel. What is striking is the extremely low number of goals scored. In 180 minutes, there was only one goal, scored by Genoa before halftime in 2022, and both second halves remained goalless. Both games thus remained below 1.5 goals, which suggests cautious game plans from both teams and led to expectations of control rather than chaos when Genoa and Pisa meet. From a psychological point of view, Genoa should now approach this new duel with a little more composure, buoyed by the clean sheets and four points earned. Pisa, still without a goal in this fixture, may feel compelled to be more offensive. It is possible that the attacking instincts of De Rossi and Gilardino will pull this game out of its very cautious pattern so far.
