Pisa vs Empoli – News and Probable Lineups

After finishing last in Serie A and being relegated, Pisa will make their return to competitive football on Sunday with a Coppa Italia fixture against Empoli.

Both Tuscan teams will be aiming for promotion in the league, while the team that wins this first-round cup match will face either Benevento or Fiorentina in the next stage.

Match overview

Pisa’s previous season set a challenging tone as they narrowly advanced past Cesena on penalties in their opening Coppa Italia match last year, only to be eliminated by Torino in the subsequent round.

Following a long-awaited return to Italy’s top tier, Pisa quickly found themselves relegated again in May, which felt almost predestined.

The Nerazzurri concluded the prior season poorly, suffering losses in all of their last nine fixtures while conceding 22 goals, ultimately finishing with just 18 points from 37 matches, including a mere four between February and May.

Indeed, the mid-season appointment of Oscar Hiljemark did not yield positive results, prompting the club to turn to Paolo Bianco—who had previously guided Monza to promotion through the Serie B playoffs last season—to spearhead their efforts for a return.

Pisa registered two wins and one defeat during four summer warm-up matches, most notably securing a convincing 4-1 victory over Bologna, as they prepare to host in the cup before commencing their league campaign at home against Padova next week.

Before their relegation from Serie A in 2024, Empoli surprisingly advanced to their first-ever Coppa Italia semi-final but fell 5-1 on aggregate to Bologna, who went on to win the tournament.

In the last edition, Empoli experienced a much earlier exit—knocked out by Genoa in round two—amid a challenging period at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

Rather than pushing for an immediate return to the top division, Empoli finished 15th in Serie B, just a few points clear of the relegation zone.

With Guido Pagliuca now back at the helm, his squad started the summer with consecutive friendly victories, followed by two 1-1 draws against Spezia and Livorno.

Now, the Azzurri will kick off their campaign with a match against regional rivals Pisa, just days before hosting Cremonese in their Serie B opener.

Team News

Pisa continues to be led by captain Antonio Caracciolo, but the summer has seen significant changes following their relegation: Rafiu Durosinmi notably departed for Genk in a club-record transfer.

Bianco has worked to reinforce his squad as well, welcoming Tommaso Marras, Simone Zanon, and Giuseppe Leone; Ichem Ferrah, who had 18 direct goal contributions while playing for Cambuur in the Dutch league, has also joined the team.

While Nicholas Bonfanti and Matheus Lusuardi from Pisa are sidelined due to serious knee injuries, Empoli could be without Bohdan Popov and last season’s top scorer Stiven Shpendi.

Both players missed the recent friendly against Livorno, indicating that Pagliuca may opt for either a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-1-2 formation on Sunday.

In the absence of Shpendi, former Fiorentina forward Filippo Distefano could potentially make his competitive debut at the forefront of the Azzurri’s attack.

Pisa probable starting XI:

Always; Zanon, Canestrelli, Caracciolo, Angori; Toure, Leone, Loyola; Marras, Meister, Moreo

Empoli probable starting XI:

Perisan; Curto, Romagnoli, Tosto; Cauz, Yepes, Magnino, Ceesay; Tasty; Bianchi, Distefano

With promotion being the primary focus for both clubs, an extended cup run seems unlikely.

Pisa may still take time to overcome the frustrations of last season, leading to a possibility of Empoli advancing via penalties after settling for a draw.