Both seeking to end long Serie A winless streaks, local rivals Como and Monza will meet at Stadio Sinigaglia on Saturday afternoon.
While the Lariani have gone seven games without a win, their visitors last tasted success in October.
Match preview
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Following last week's 2-0 home loss to in-form Fiorentina, Como's only two victories since returning to the Italian top flight remain back-to-back wins in late September.
Both before and after that brief purple patch, the Lombardy club have struggled to pick up points, and they have now lost five of their last seven Serie A matches.
With 13 games played, Como have slipped into the relegation zone, leading rookie coach Cesc Fabregas to defend his squad amid what he perceives to be unrealistic expectations.
Having been promoted from Serie B in a blaze of publicity, with the involvement of Fabregas, Thierry Henry and star signing Raphael Varane all grabbing the headlines, reality has since bitten hard.
The Lariani's lack of firepower is a concern, as they have scored only one goal for every 22 balls played into the opposition box this term - the fourth-worst ratio throughout the league.
At the other end, they are one of just three teams yet to keep a single clean sheet across Europe's top five leagues, leaving Fabregas with plenty to fix.
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After going eight games unbeaten against Como in Serie B and Serie C, Monza came away empty-handed from the club's last contest, down in Italy's second tier two years ago.
Since then, the Brianzoli have set the standard for promoted clubs, with ambitious recruitment helping them achieve mid-table stability under former boss Raffaele Palladino.
However, things have taken a significant downturn in recent months, dating back to the end of Palladino's reign: Monza have won just one of their last 22 league matches - a 3-0 victory at Hellas Verona in October.
During that time, they have earned the fewest points of any side still in Serie A - only 12 - and current coach Alessandro Nesta may feel the board's patience wearing thin.
Monza, who are looking forward to a last-16 Coppa Italia clash with Bologna next week, were again indebted to a goal from veteran striker Milan Djuric last time out, as his header salvaged a draw against Torino and halted their streak of three straight defeats.
Having failed to score in half of their 16 away matches played in 2024 - and only Lecce have fared worse - Nesta's men will make the short trip to Como in hope of defying such form and surpassing their hosts in the standings.
Team News
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After being sent off during stoppage time against Fiorentina, Como centre-back Alberto Dossena must serve a suspension, so Edoardo Goldaniga may be shifted inside from the right, with Ignace Van der Brempt returning at full-back.
Marc-Oliver Kempf is another option if he can fully recover from a muscular injury, but Sergi Roberto, Maximo Perrone and Alessandro Gabrielloni are all set to miss out.
In better news for Cesc Fabregas, Luca Mazzitelli and Gabriel Strefezza should return, with the latter set to join Nico Paz and Patrick Cutrone in the final third.
Meanwhile, Monza are still missing captain Matteo Pessina, his fellow midfielder Roberto Gagliardini and goalkeeper Alessio Cragno.
With Armando Izzo sidelined by a one-match ban, Alessandro Nesta must also make a change at the back, and Luca Caldirola is favourite to fill in.
In attack, Italy forward Daniel Maldini will link up with Milan Djuric, who has scored 12 headed goals in Serie A to date - including last week's leveller versus Torino. Over the last four seasons in Europe's top five leagues, only Robert Lewandowski (13), Erling Haaland (14), and Harry Kane (23) have managed more.
Como possible starting lineup:
Audero; Van der Brempt, Goldaniga, Barba, Moreno; Engelhardt, Da Cunha; Strefezza, Paz, Fadera; Cutrone
Monza possible starting lineup:
Turati; Caldirola, Mari, Carboni; Pereira, Bianco, Bondo, Kyriakopoulos; Maldini, Mota; Djuric
We say: Como 1-0 Monza
The stakes are already high in this battle at the bottom of Serie A, and it should be a tight, tense encounter.
Neither side has scored freely this term, so one goal may decide the points' destiny - and hosts Como could claim them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
