Overview
Continuing their recent positive form, Bologna has qualified for the round of 16 of the Europa League when they continued to defeat SK Brann 1-0, thereby winning the overall victory after two legs.
The Italian team took full advantage of the numerical advantage when the Norwegian representative only had 10 players on the field, and Joao Mario's goal in the second half sealed the ticket to the next round. In the next round, Bologna will face Roma, and if they go further, they can face Lille or Aston Villa in the quarterfinals.
In parallel with success in the European arena, Bologna also won the last 2 Serie A matches, thereby ending a four-game losing streak. This shows that Vincenzo Italiano's team seems to have stopped the mid-season decline.
The reigning Coppa Italy champions once experienced a difficult start to 2026, both struggling to accumulate points and being eliminated from the cup. However, victories against Torino and Udinese helped them rise to eighth place in the rankings.
However, the possibility of winning a ticket to European cups through Serie A is not too bright, making the Europa League a priority goal. Before entering the great battle with Roma, Rossoblu will successively meet the two bottom teams, Pisa and Hellas Verona, starting with a guest trip to Tuscany.
In terms of head-to-head history, most of the encounters between the two teams have taken place many years ago, but Bologna has only lost one of seven encounters with Pisa in Serie A, including a 4-0 victory in the first leg in October last year.
In addition, Pisa also only won one of eight home matches against teams from the Emilia region in both Serie A and Serie B, and the last time they did so was in February 1985.
Pisa entered this match in an extremely dangerous situation. They have not won in the last 15 rounds of Serie A since their only victory in early November. The defeat in the Tuscany derby against Fiorentina last week almost pushed them closer to the risk of relegation, just one year after promotion.
Currently 9 points away from the safe group, Pisa's Serie A comeback campaign is becoming a big disappointment. New coach Oscar Hiljemark has not yet made a clear mark, having only won one point after the first 3 matches. He has even publicly criticized his players for playing in fear. And whether that frankness will be effective is still a question mark.
Personnel situation
Bologna is missing both key left-backs Charalampos Lykogiannis and Juan Miranda due to injury, so Joao Mario or Nadir Zortea can replace them.
Norwegian defender Torbjorn Heggem is still struggling to recover from a hip injury, but Eivind Helland and veteran defender Lorenzo De Silvestri are now ready to play. Both are not named in Rossoblu's UEFA squad.
Thijs Dallinga and Santiago Castro will continue to compete for a starting spot in attack. Castro is gradually regaining his form, scoring in three of his last five appearances.
Meanwhile, Pisa will be missing 4 injured players: Calvin Stengs, Daniel Denoon, Isak Vural and Simone Scuffet.
After playing alongside key striker Stefano Moreo in the attack against Fiorentina, Samuel Iling-Junior hopes to face his old club.
Expected lineup:
Semper, Canestrelli, Caracciolo, Bozhinov, Toure, Loyola, Aebischer, Marin, Iling-Junior, Moreo, Stojilkovic.
Skorupski, De Silvestri, Lucumi, Casale, Mario, Ferguson, Freuler, Sohm, Orsolini, Castro, Cambiaghi.
The match between Pisa and Bologna takes place at 0:30 AM March 3rd (Vietnam time).
