Preview: Genoa vs. Pisa - prediction, team news, lineups

Genoa and Pisa face off in a relegation six-pointer in gameweek 18 at the Luigi Ferraris, where the winner aims to gain a psychological edge in the battle to beat the drop.

Daniele De Rossi’s team enter their first Serie A match of 2026 on a three-match losing run, while their opponents have been winless since the start of November, highlighting their poor results heading into the new year.

Match preview

When Genoa beat Udinese in Udine at the start of November, De Rossi’s time in charge of the club seemed to have got off to an outstanding start.

That 2-1 win followed a four-match unbeaten streak during which they earned eight points from 12, thereby extending their impressive run without losing to five.

However, the honeymoon phase did not last long for the 2006 World Cup winner, who has since seen his team lose to Inter Milan, Atalanta and beloved Roma.

Nonetheless, two of those defeats came against title contenders, putting the results in the appropriate context ahead of their first match of 2026.

With those tricky games not producing any positive outcomes, De Rossi’s men will welcome the different challenge of a relegation rival as they aim to improve their dismal one win in nine matches in Liguria.

While six points from an available 27 in home fixtures leaves much to be desired, Pisa have not pulled up trees on their travels all season.

Alberto Gilardino’s men are winless in all eight previous matches on their travels, although closer inspection shows that the Nerazzurri have only been beaten three times.

Of their last five on the road, four have been stalemates, with a 1-0 defeat at Lecce the only time in recent matches that the promoted outfit have suffered disappointment at the full-time whistle.

Interestingly, all four of the above draws have ended 2-2 against AC Milan, Torino, Sassuolo and Cagliari.

Those results magnify their scoring prowess on the road — only Genoa (12 goals) have more away goals in the bottom half than Pisa (11) heading into this weekend; however, 17 goals conceded on their travels is the worst defensive record considering away fixtures.

Depending on Saturday’s result, Gilardino’s men could end the weekend bottom of the table if they lose and Fiorentina win or just outside the dreaded zone due to a superior head-to-head, adding to the jeopardy before a ball is kicked in Liguria.

Genoa Serie A form:

Genoa form (all competitions):

Pisa Serie A form:

Team News

Jean Onana is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Cameroon, ruling him out on Saturday, while Albert Gronbaek, Benjamin Siegrist (finger) and Junior Messias (calf) miss out due to injury.

Leo Ostigard surprisingly remains the home team’s leading scorer with three goals, and the centre-back remains a threat from set-piece situations.

The defender has outscored a group of players on two goals led by Lorenzo Colombo, Ruslan Malinovskyi and Vitinha, and it remains to be seen if De Rossi opts for Colombo and Vitinha up top or leans on either Caleb Ekuban or Jeff Ekhator.

M’Bala Nzola could return to the Pisa XI after returning from Angola duty at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with his suspension for a straight red against Parma last month served while he was on international duty.

With Stefano Moreo scoring his third Serie A goal while Nzola was away, both men are now tied on three league goals this term and enter Saturday as the only Nerazzurri players to score more than one in 2025-26.

However, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro is with Nigeria at AFCON 2025, while Juan Cuadrado and Calvin Stengs are absent due to thigh injuries.

Genoa possible starting lineup:

Leali; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vazquez; Norton-Cuffy, Malinovskyi, Frendrup, Ellertsson, Martin; Vitinha, Colombo

Pisa possible starting lineup:

Semper; Calabrese, Caracciolo, Canestrelli; Toure, Piccinini, Aebischer, Vural, Angora; Tramni; Nzola

We say: Genoa 2-2 Pisa

Genoa will view this encounter as the ideal opportunity to halt their recent slump against an opponent that have failed to win any away matches this season.

However, the resilience shown by Pisa in their recent sequence of high-scoring away draws suggests that a tightly contested stalemate is the most probable result.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.