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Benevento entertain Pisa at the Municipal Stadium Ciro Vigorito in the first leg of their Serie B playoffs semi-final on Tuesday.
The two sides are vying for the final promotion spot to Serie A, which is still up for grabs. Lecce and Cremonese have already been promoted to the top flight, finishing first and second in the Serie B standings after the regular season.
The hosts secured a place in the last four after defeating Ascoli, who finished sixth in the standings, on Saturday. Benevento finished seventh in the regular season and were on a three-game losing streak, but Gianluca Lapadula managed to score a goal in the first half to help his team eke out a narrow a 1-0 win.
Pisa earned a place in the semi-finals directly as they finished third in the standings, thanks to a better goal difference than fourth-placed Monza.
Benevento vs Pisa Head-to-Head
The two sides have crossed paths 16 times across all competitions, with all the meetings coming in the lower tiers of Italian football. The hosts have been the better side in this fixture with seven wins to their name.
Pisa have come out on top three times but are without a win in their trips to Campania. Six meetings between the two sides have ended in draws.
The two meetings in the 2021-22 campaign ended in home wins for either side, with Benevento recording a 5-1 win at Tuesday's venue in April.
Benevento form guide (Serie B): W-L-L-L-W
Pisa form guide (Serie B): W-D-L-W-D
Benevento vs Pisa Team News
Benevento
Gabriele Moncini and Marco Sau were absent in the game against Ascoli and will be evaluated before this game. Gaetano Letizia was taken off the field against Ascoli and his involvement here remains doubtful.
Francesco Forte has recovered from a muscle injury and is in contention to start here. The hosts have announced a 27-man squad for the playoffs and have enough options to choose from here.
Injured: Gabriele Moncini, Marco Sau
Doubtful: Gaetano Letizia, Artur Ionita
Suspended: None
Pisa
Luca D'Angelo has named a 25-man squad for the playoffs. Andrea Caracciolo has been left out due to a cruciate ligament injury while Davide Marsura also missed out on the final list with a muscle injury.
Hjörtur Hermannsson has been named in the squad but faces a late fitness test ahead of the trip to Campania.
Injured: Andrea Caracciolo, Davide Marsura
Doubtful: Hjörtur Hermannsson
Suspended: None
Benevento vs Pisa Predicted XIs
Benevento (4-3-3): Nicolo Manfredini (GK); Edoardo Masciangelo, Kamil Glik, Federico Barba, Alessandro Vogliacco; Giacomo Calo, Gennaro Acampora, Andrés Tello; Salvatore Elia, Roberto Insigne; Gianluca Lapadula
Pisa (4-3-1-2): Nicolas (GK); Filippo Berra, Maxime Leverbe, Samuele Birindelli, Pietro Beruatto; Idrissa Toure, Adam Nagy, Marius Marin; Giuseppe Sibilli; George Pușcaș, Lorenzo Lucca.
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Benevento vs Pisa Prediction
The hosts have outscored the Nerazzurri 62-48 in league fixtures this season and are expected to find the back of the net in this game. Pisa have the third-best defensive record in Serie B this season, conceding 35 goals in 38 games.
Taking the head-to-head record and the home advantage for Gli Stregoni into consideration, we expect Benevento to secure a win in the first leg.
Prediction: Benevento 2-1 Pisa
