Como vs. Pisa: Preview, prediction, tips as Akinsanmiro faces Fabregas’ fury

Como welcome Pisa to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia this Sunday, March 22, for matchday 30 of the 2025/26 Serie A season, Afrik-Foot reports.

The hosts are flying high in fourth place on 54 points from 29 matches, chasing what would be a historic first Champions League qualification.

Pisa, by contrast, are in deep trouble down in 19th on just 18 points, desperately scrapping to avoid an immediate return to Serie B after winning promotion last summer.

The 36-point chasm between these two sides tells the full story of their respective seasons.

Cesc Fabregas has transformed Como into genuine European contenders, while Oscar Hiljemark is trying to salvage a campaign that has produced only two victories in 29 league outings.

Como vs. Pisa match preview

Como arrive at this fixture on the back of four consecutive Serie A wins, a run that has propelled them firmly into the Champions League conversation.

That sequence includes a statement 2-0 triumph at Juventus, a 3-1 comeback against Lecce, a 2-1 victory at Cagliari and a hard-fought 2-1 success over Roma at the Sinigaglia last weekend.

Since a 2-1 home defeat by Fiorentina in mid-February, the Lariani have collected 13 points from a possible 15.

Their goal difference of +26 is the second best in the division, trailing only Inter (+42), and the attack has been prolific with Anastasios Douvikas netting 10 times and Nico Paz contributing nine goals and six assists.

After beating Roma, Fabregas was characteristically measured about Como’s Champions League ambitions.

“I would get angry if my players talked about Champions League right now,” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Roma game.

“Not because of the subject itself, but because it is not the moment. If we get there, great, if we do not, we continue to build.”

Pisa, meanwhile, ended a 17-match winless run in the league with a 3-1 home victory over Cagliari last time out, a result inspired by captain Antonio Caracciolo, who scored twice.

That was only the Nerazzurri’s second win of the entire campaign, and it came after Nigeria’s Rafiu Durosinmi was sent off when the score was 1-0, meaning Hiljemark’s men had to dig deep with 10 players for the majority of the match.

Despite that morale-boosting result, Pisa’s away record remains alarming.

They have not won a single match on the road this season, collecting just six points from their last 10 away games through six draws and four defeats.

In the relegation battle, the Nerazzurri sit level on 18 points with Hellas Verona but a daunting nine points adrift of safety with only nine matches remaining.

Head-to-Head record between Como and Pisa

In the broader head-to-head picture across the last 10 meetings, Pisa hold a slight advantage with five wins to Como’s two, alongside three draws.However, recent form favours the Lariani significantly.

When these sides met in the reverse fixture on January 6, 2026, Como travelled to the Arena Garibaldi and delivered a dominant 3-0 victory, extending their unbeaten run against Pisa to five matches.

The last encounter at the Sinigaglia was a Serie B clash in March 2024, which Como won 3-1. That means Fabregas’ side have scored six goals and conceded just one across their last two meetings with the Nerazzurri.

Team news for Como vs. Pisa

Predicted Como XI (3-4-2-1): Jean Butez; Jacobo Ramon, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Diego Carlos; Mergin Vojvoda, Maxence Caqueret, Lucas Da Cunha, Alex Valle; Martin Baturina, Nico Paz; Anastasios Douvikas. Manager: Cesc Fabregas.

Predicted Pisa XI (3-4-3): Nicolas; Francesco Coppola, Giovanni Canestrelli, Antonio Caracciolo; Mehdi Leris, Malthe Hojholt, Felipe Loyola, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro; Matteo Tramoni, Stefano Moreo, Filip Stojilkovic. Manager: Oscar Hiljemark.

Star Players: Nico Paz vs. Stefano Moreo

Stat	Nico Paz (Como)	Stefano Moreo (Pisa)
Position	Attacking midfielder	Forward
Nationality	Argentine	Italian
Serie A Goals 2025/26	9	6
Serie A Assists	6	1
Shots per Game	3.6	1.5
Minutes Played	2,297	1,670
FotMob Rating	7.61 (team best)	—

Paz has been the creative heartbeat of Como’s remarkable campaign, combining vision, movement and finishing ability to devastating effect.

The 21-year-old, who is on loan from Real Madrid, has been directly involved in 15 Serie A goals this season and carries the team’s highest average rating on FotMob.

Moreo, the experienced Italian forward, carries the weight of Pisa’s goalscoring burden on his shoulders.

Five of his six league strikes this term have come in away fixtures, which makes him the most likely route to goal for the visitors on Sunday.

Managers: Fabregas’ rise and Hiljemark’s rescue mission

Fabregas, the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder, has built something remarkable during his second full season at the helm.

The Spaniard guided Como from Serie B to the top flight and now has them fighting for Champions League football, an achievement that would have seemed absurd just two years ago.

After beating Juventus 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium, the Como boss referenced his footballing education under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

“Arsene Wenger is like a second father to me,” Fabregas told DAZN Italia, reflecting on the attacking style that has become the hallmark of his Como side.

His managerial record across 72 matches in charge stands at a 43 per cent win rate, but the trajectory this season has been sharply upward.

Hiljemark, the 33-year-old Swede, was appointed on February 3, 2026, after Alberto Gilardino was sacked following a miserable run of just one win in 23 league matches.

The former Palermo and Genoa midfielder, who retired from playing at just 28, made his name in management by leading IF Elfsborg in the Europa League, where he guided the Swedish club to victories over Roma and Nice.

His record at Pisa so far reads one win, two draws and three defeats in six matches, yielding a return of just five points.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s fixture, the Pisa boss acknowledged the scale of the challenge.

“They are a very strong team,” Hiljemark said in his pre-match press conference. “They have had a very positive season, with 25 more points than last season.”

Como vs. Pisa tactical preview

Fabregas typically deploys a fluid 3-4-2-1 system built around intelligent ball retention and rapid transitions.

Paz operates with freedom between the lines, drifting laterally and centrally to create numerical superiority in midfield, while Caqueret anchors the middle of the park as the defensive pivot.

The wide players, Baturina and Da Cunha, have licence to cut inside and create overloads in the half spaces.

Hiljemark has favoured a 3-4-3 formation at Pisa, designed to compact the midfield and frustrate opponents in build-up.

Wing-backs Leris and Angori are crucial to the transition game, while Tramoni possesses the quality to exploit space on the counter-attack.

The tactical battle is likely to favour Como significantly.

Without Aebischer in midfield, Pisa lose quality in both transition and defensive protection, and the movement of Paz and Baturina, who regularly interchange positions, could expose the visitors’ three-man defence by creating two-on-one situations out wide.

Super Eagles midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro could make his 7th league appearance in this game and help stifle Como’s creativity in the middle of the park.

Douvikas, the Greek striker who has scored 10 goals this season, will look to exploit the channels between the Pisa centre-backs when they are drawn out to cover the flanks.

Betting tips for Como vs. Pisa