Serie A Leaders Inter Milan Face Relegation-Threatened Pisa: A Clash of Fortunes
In what shapes up to be a pivotal Serie A Matchday 22 encounter, league leaders Inter Milan will host relegation-threatened Pisa SC. This match holds immense significance for Inter's title aspirations and Pisa's desperate fight for survival, promising a compelling contest. Inter are in strong form, while Pisa faces an uphill battle to secure vital points and escape the drop zone.
Match Background & Qualification Scenarios
This Serie A Matchday 22 fixture pits Inter Milan against Pisa SC, two teams experiencing vastly different campaigns. Inter Milan currently sits atop the Serie A table with an impressive 49 points from 21 matches, strongly contending for the league title and aiming to extend their lead [11, 33]. Pisa SC, promoted to Serie A for the 2025-2026 season [1, 2, 3], has endured a challenging top-flight journey, finding themselves in the relegation zone at 19th place with 14 points from 21 matches [4, 11, 33, 34, 39, 43]. Every point is crucial for their survival hopes. Earlier in the season, Inter defeated Pisa 2-0 in November 2025 [10].
Recent Form
Inter Milan are in excellent form, performing strongly in the league with 16 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses, boasting a 76% win rate. Their last 5 league matches show a record of 4 wins and 1 draw [27, 33]. The team has been undefeated in their last 7 consecutive matches across all competitions and has won their last 5 away matches consecutively [22]. However, they recently suffered a 1-3 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League [11, 23, 37]. Pisa SC's recent performance is concerning, with only 1 win, 11 draws, and 9 losses in Serie A, resulting in a mere 5% win rate [3]. The team has not won in their last 9 consecutive matches [2] and has lost their last 4 home games in a row [2]. Their most recent fixture was a 1-1 draw against Atalanta [34], extending their winless run in the league to eight matches [26].
Key Players & Injury News
Inter Milan's attack is spearheaded by their top scorer Lautaro Martínez, who has netted 11 league goals and 15 across all competitions [27, 37]. Other key players include Marcus Thuram, assist leaders Federico Dimarco (6 assists) and Nicolò Barella (5 assists), and midfield stalwarts Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Piotr Zieliński [13, 17, 27, 35, 41, 42]. Inter is currently dealing with several injuries; Hakan Çalhanoğlu is expected out until January 31 due to calf problems [23, 29], while Denzel Dumfries is sidelined until March 1 after ankle surgery [23, 29]. Tomás Palacios is expected to be out until January 24 with a hamstring injury, and Raffaele Di Gennaro has a broken hand [11, 20, 29]. For Pisa SC, key attacking players include Stefano Moreo, who has scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist in 20 league matches [11, 38, 44], and M'Bala Nzola, also with 3 goals [38, 44]. Pisa's injury list includes Isak Vural (knee injury, out until mid-February) [11, 19, 21] and Raúl Albiol (muscle injury, expected back early February) [11, 19]. Juan Cuadrado, Calvin Stengs, Mateus Lusuardi, and Daniel Denoon are also on the injury list [7, 11, 19].