Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Serie A clash between Pisa and Lazio, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Still without a win in Serie A since returning to top-flight football, Pisa host Lazio in the big time after 34 years, with the newcomers keen to surprise the capital club at Arena Garibaldi in the final match of gameweek nine.
The Biancocelesti defeated their opponents in Tuscany in that May 1991 encounter, and a similar result would not surprise, given the hosts’ failure to secure their first victory since their return.
Match preview
Pisa are still winless, but there is a growing sense that Alberto Gilardino‘s men are getting closer to their first victory of the season.
The Nerazzurri came close in the eighth round at San Siro, where manager Gilardino played for three seasons, and the former striker could have stunned the Rossoneri.
The Black and Blues had done well to come back after Rafael Leao put the Rossoneri ahead after seven minutes; however, Juan Cuadrado and M’Bala Nzola scored in the 60th and 86th minutes to give the Tuscany visitors a 2-1 lead heading into the closing moments.
When it looked like the new boys would secure the win, Zachary Athekame scored in the third minute of stoppage time to level the scores, leaving them in the bottom three after eight rounds.
The second-bottom team will aim to move on from that disappointment when they host Lazio, as maximum points could lift them out of the bottom three and as high as 15th position, with Parma, Lecce and Hellas Verona respectively three, two and one point ahead of 19th-placed Pisa before the ninth gameweek.
Lazio will hope that objective does not result in a win for Gilardino’s men, who are one of four clubs in Serie A yet to secure a victory this season.
Maurizio Sarri‘s team sit mid-table in the competition heading into this round, having won three, drawn two and suffered three defeats, accumulating 11 points.
However, the capital club are only two points behind Como in sixth, three points below Bologna in fifth and four points adrift of fourth-placed Inter Milan.
The form table favours Sarri’s team, who have won two league games in the last four rounds, showing a turnaround after the returning manager struggled for results earlier in the season.
Lazio’s lack of spending due to an embargo and a surfeit of injuries did not help Sarri’s cause in the early stages, but the Biancocelesti appear to be turning the tide.
Their latest victory came at the expense of one of Sarri’s former clubs, Juventus, whom they beat 1-0 at Stadio Olimpico in what proved to be Igor Tudor’s last match in charge of the Old Lady.
Now aiming to secure back-to-back wins in Serie A for the first time this season, the Aquilotti hope not only to extend their four-match unbeaten run but also to record a third win in five league matches to climb higher in the embryonic table.
Pisa Serie A form:
Pisa form (all competitions):
Lazio Serie A form:
Team News
While Pisa suffered no apparent new injuries against Milan, Gilardino will be without Tomas Esteves (thigh), Mateus Lusuardi (knee) and Calvin Stengs (thigh) on Thursday.
Nzola’s goal against Milan was the forward’s second of this season, meaning he has scored almost half of the Nerazzurri’s five goals, and he aims to add to his tally against Sarri’s team.
Lazio face numerous injury issues: Valentin Castellanos (thigh), Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (hamstring), Matteo Cancellieri (muscle), Samuel Gigot (ankle), Nicolo Rovella (groin) and Nuno Tavares (foot) are expected to be unavailable this week.
With Cancellieri and Castellanos likely to miss out in gameweek nine, Mattia Zaccagni, the Eagles’ only other player to score more than one goal this season, aims to be decisive against the struggling side.
Pisa possible starting lineup:
Semper; Canestrelli, Albiol, Caracciolo; Toure, Marin, Aebischer, Akinsanmiro, Bonfanti; Nzola, Meister
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Provedel; Lazzari, Gila, Romagnoli, Marusic; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Basic; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni
We say: Pisa 0-1 Lazio
Pisa have yet to score in four home matches since returning to the top flight, with their best performances coming away from Arena Garibaldi.
While the hosts’ battling qualities suggest a first league win is imminent, Lazio are expected to extend that wait by clinching a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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