As Venezia prepares to face Como this Sunday evening, the stakes are incredibly high for both teams in what marks their first Serie A encounter since 1950. The match will take place at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, with both clubs currently struggling near the bottom of the league table. Separated by just three points, a victory for Venezia would see them draw level with their visitors from Lombardy.
Venezia, under the management of Eusebio Di Francesco, finds themselves in dire straits after a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Bologna last week. This loss marked the fourth consecutive defeat for the Lagunari, leaving them at the bottom of the Serie A standings. In these four matches, they have managed to score only one goal while conceding seven, which has further compounded their struggles. With just two victories all season and none since October, Venezia are now four points adrift of safety in their quest to avoid relegation.
The team’s offensive woes are particularly alarming; they have netted only four goals from open play this season—the lowest in the league. Additionally, they have dropped a staggering 14 points from winning positions since their return to Italy’s top tier, highlighting their inability to maintain leads when they do score.
On the other hand, Como arrive in Venice hoping to reverse their own dismal form. Like Venezia, they have also found themselves in the relegation zone after a series of poor performances. The Lariani have not won a match since September and recently extended their winless streak to eight games following a 1-1 draw against Monza. They are one of only four teams across Europe’s top five leagues without a victory during this period.
Historically, Venezia have had the upper hand against Como at home, remaining unbeaten in their last five encounters at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. The last time Como secured a league victory in Venice was back in September 1994, making this matchup particularly significant for both clubs as they seek to break their respective negative trends.
Team News
Venezia will be missing several key players due to injury this weekend. Jesse Joronen, Alfred Duncan, and John Yeboah are all sidelined, while wing-back Francesco Zampano is recovering from hand surgery and may not be fit to play. In light of these absences, Di Francesco is likely to field a front line featuring Gianluca Busio and Gaetano Oristanio supporting lone striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who has historically performed well against Como.
Como also faces injury challenges as head coach Cesc Fabregas continues to cope without Sergi Roberto and Maximo Perrone. However, he will welcome back two regular starters: center-back Alberto Dossena returns from suspension, and midfielder Luca Mazzitelli is set to make his comeback after injury.
Expected Starting XIs
Venezia: Stankovic; Idzes, Svoboda, Sverko; Ellertsson, Crnigoj, Nicolussi Caviglia, Haps; Busio, Oristanio; Pohjanpalo
Como: Audero; Van der Brempt, Dossena, Kempf, Moreno; Engelhardt, Da Cunha; Strefezza, Paz, Fadera; Cutrone
Match Prediction
Given both teams’ struggles in front of goal—Venezia with a shot conversion rate of just 7% and Como at 6.9%—goals may be hard to come by in this encounter. With both sides desperate for points but lacking offensive firepower, a low-scoring draw seems likely. Therefore, I predict a final score of Venezia 1 – 1 Como as both teams aim to secure crucial points in their battle against relegation.
Prediction: Venezia 1-1 Como
