Serie A: Pisa vs. Como – Confirmed line-ups and updates
Nico Paz returns to the Como starting XI as Cesc Fabregas and his team look to draw level with Juventus and Roma when they take on Pisa in Serie A on Tuesday afternoon.
Pisa sit in 19th place ahead of kick-off and require a victory if they are to lift themselves out of the relegation zone on Tuesday afternoon. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Genoa last time out: Their ninth draw of the Serie A campaign.
Alberto Gilardino has made wholesale changes for this midweek clash. Francesco Coppola and Anotnio Caracciolo start at centre-back over Raul Albiol and Giovanni Bonfanti, Marius Marin and Gabriele Piccinini come into the midfield in place of Mehdi Leris and Malthe Hojholt, and Matteo Tramoni and M’Bala Nzola start up front instead of Henrik Meister and Stefano Moreo.
A victory for the sixth-placed Como on Tuesday evening would mean drawing level with both Juventus (fourth) and Roma (fifth) on points.
Cesc Fabregas’s side fell to back-to-back defeats against Inter and Roma at the beginning of December, but have since responded with routine victories over Lecce and Como over the last 10 days.
Fabregas has also decided to shuffle his pack on Tuesday afternoon, but the headline news is the return of Nico Paz in attack. The Argentine was named as a substitute for the 1-0 victory over Udinese last time out and appeared for just over 20 minutes at the end.
Elsewhere, there are returns to the Como starting XI for Ivan Smolcic, Alex Valle and Nicolas Kuhn.
Kick-off is due at 14.00 GMT.
Pisa vs. Como: Confirmed line-ups
Pisa (3-5-2): Semper; Coppola, Canestrelli, Caracciolo; Touré, Marin, Aebischer, Piccinini, Angori; Tramoni, Nzola.
Subs: Andrade, Scuffet, Leris, Hojholt, Buffon, Esteves, Moreo, Calabresi, Bettazzi, Denoon, Mbambi, Bonfanti, Lorran.
Como (4-2-3-1): Butez; Kempf, Ramón, Smolcic, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Kuhn, Nico Paz, Rodríguez; Douvikas.
Subs: Tornqvist, Vigorito, Cavlina, Dossena, Caqueret, Sergi Roberto Alberto Moreno, Baturina, Posch, Vojvoda, Diego Carlos, Le Borgne, Van Der Brempt, Cerri.