Pisa host Genoa in Serie A on Sunday evening, 19 April 2026, with the bottom side trying to drag themselves clear of a season that’s been grinding them down since August. Oscar Hiljemark’s team are 20th with just 18 points, and the table tells the story plainly enough: two wins, 12 draws, 18 defeats, and only 23 goals scored across the campaign. They’re not just struggling to win. They’re struggling to turn decent spells into anything worthwhile.
Genoa arrive in 14th, which is a far calmer place to be, even if Daniele De Rossi’s side aren’t exactly in free-flowing form themselves. They’ve got 36 points on the board and a more respectable balance sheet overall, with 38 scored and 45 conceded. That leaves them firmly in the survival-safe middle ground, and this trip to Pisa gives them a chance to finish the job properly while keeping the pressure off their final run-in. For Pisa, every home game now feels like a last stand. For Genoa, this is the sort of fixture they should be taking something from.
The broader context leans Genoa’s way too. Pisa have won only twice at home all season and have spent most of it chasing games from behind, while Genoa’s away record isn’t glamorous but it’s solid enough to cope with a trip to the bottom club. The visitors have already shown they can handle this opponent as well, drawing 1-1 in Genoa back in January. That was tight, and this one may be too, but the gap in quality and confidence is still there.
Pisa Form & Analysis
Pisa’s recent run has been rough, and that’s putting it kindly. They went to Roma on 10 April and were beaten 3-0, a game that was over once Donyell Malen scored twice before the interval and completed his hat-trick after the break. Before that came a 1-0 home loss to Torino, the sort of narrow defeat that stings because it felt avoidable. Go back a little further and there was another heavy setback away to Como, where Pisa were taken apart 5-0. That followed the brighter moment in their last six, a 3-1 home win over Cagliari, but one good day hasn’t been enough to hide the pattern. They’re losing more often than not, and when they do lose, it can unravel quickly.
The home record is where the alarm bells ring loudest. Pisa have taken only 10 points at their own ground, with two wins, four draws and 10 defeats. They’ve scored just seven home goals and conceded 19. Seven. That is tiny. It’s hard to build any sort of platform when you’re averaging less than half a goal a game in front of your own supporters. You can usually survive on a stubborn home defence if the attack is blunt. Pisa don’t even have that. They’ve conceded first in seven of their last eight league matches, and once they’re chasing, they rarely look equipped to rescue things.
There’s also a worrying habit of going quiet for long stretches. The win over Cagliari gave them hope, but since then they’ve gone three games without a victory and their attack has dried up again. Against Bologna, Torino and Roma, they managed little end product and no breakthrough at all. That won’t scare Genoa. Pisa can compete in moments — their xG return in the defeat at Roma was actually not embarrassing at 1.26 — but the bigger picture is blunt. They don’t score enough, they concede too easily, and the margin for error is basically gone.
Genoa Form & Analysis
Genoa’s form has been a little more upbeat, though not spotless. Their last six tell a mixed story, starting with a 2-1 home win over Sassuolo on 12 April, a match they had to work for after a 1-0 interval lead was wiped out by the late stages before Caleb Ekuban settled it in the 84th minute. Before that came a trip to Juventus and a 2-0 loss, which is no disgrace, and a home defeat to Udinese by the same scoreline. Yet sandwiched between those setbacks were decent away wins at Hellas Verona and a statement 2-1 home victory over Roma. That’s the sort of sequence that says Genoa can be messy, but they’re competitive. They don’t fold.
Their away numbers are perfectly usable too. Three wins, five draws and seven defeats from 15 league matches on the road isn’t spectacular, but it’s enough to keep them out of trouble. They’ve scored 17 away goals and conceded 23, which points to a side that can be opened up but can also find a way through. And that matters here. Pisa’s home defence has been leaky all season, and Genoa have shown enough in away games to believe they’ll get chances. They’re not a team that simply sits back and hopes for a goalless slog. De Rossi’s side have scored in enough difficult spots to suggest they’ll land a punch here too.
There’s a bit more shape to Genoa’s recent football than Pisa’s. They’ve won three of their last six, even if the defeats to Juventus, Udinese and Inter remind you the ceiling isn’t especially high. Still, when they’ve met teams closer to their level, they’ve generally found a way. That’s the key to this match. Can they control the ugly bits? If they do, they should be fine. Pisa haven’t shown enough at home to suggest they can drag opponents into chaos and come out with points.
Head-to-Head
The head-to-head record leans Genoa’s way without being wildly one-sided. The most recent meeting ended 1-1 in Genoa in January, so Pisa know they can make this awkward, at least for a while. But the longer trend is still uncomfortable for the hosts. Genoa have gone nine head-to-head meetings without a loss, and that sort of edge tends to matter when one side is down at the bottom and short on confidence.
There’s been plenty of low-scoring football in this fixture too. Eight of the last nine meetings finished with under 2.5 goals, which fits the kind of game we’re likely to get on Sunday evening. A tight, edgy contest? Very possible. A Pisa goal-fest? Not really.
We Predict: Double Chance X2
Double Chance X2 at 4/11 looks the right call here. Genoa are simply the more reliable side, even if they’re not flying. They’ve got the better record, the better away profile, and they’ve already avoided defeat in the last nine meetings between these teams. Pisa, by contrast, have won only two home matches all season and have scored just seven times at their own ground. That’s a brutal combination. You don’t need to dress it up.
The xG projection leans Genoa as well, with Pisa at 1.1 and the visitors at 1.4, and a 1-2 scoreline feels about right. Genoa should find a way through against a defence that’s conceded 19 home goals, while Pisa’s best hope is probably a scrappy reply or a set-piece moment. They’re capable of making it awkward, but not enough to trust them to take all three points. If you want a slightly more ambitious angle, Genoa to win outright has a bit of appeal at a bigger price. Still, the safer play is the double chance.
