Frosinone welcome Venezia to the Stadio Benito Stirpe on 6 September 2026 for a Serie A Matchday 3 encounter. Both clubs came up through the 2025-26 Serie B, Frosinone as runners-up and Venezia as champions and the difference in their starts could hardly be sharper. Frosinone sit ninth with three points and a positive goal difference after two matches, whereas Venezia are pointless in nineteenth having conceded four goals in two defeats.
Massimiliano Alvini and Giovanni Stroppa have no recorded meetings as head coaches, with Alvini building Frosinone around midfield control through Giacomo Calo in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, while Stroppa has Venezia operating in a 3-5-2 with Gianluca Busio running the midfield and Akor Adams and John Yeboah leading the line.
Frosinone opened with a convincing 3-0 win before a narrow 0-1 defeat, then went out of the Coppa Italia on penalties after drawing 1-1 with Sassuolo on 2 September. Venezia have not earned a point yet, losing 0-2 to Lecce and 0-2 to Milan and they arrive under pressure to stop the slide before it hardens into a pattern.
Frosinone are without Romano Schmid and Fares Ghedjemis, both sidelined with calf injuries, which removes two wide options and pushes more responsibility onto Antonio Raimondo and Giorgi Kvernadze. Venezia's situation is considerably worse: Bartol Franjic has a shoulder problem, Marin Sverko remains out with a long term hip issue, Andrea Adorante is sidelined with a back injury, Pasquale Mazzocchi is absent with a knee injury and Matias Moreno is a doubt with a muscular complaint. That leaves Stroppa potentially without both first choice wing backs and key centre backs, forcing him to reshuffle a defensive unit that has already shipped four goals.
Tactically, Frosinone work through Calo's ability to win the ball in the middle third and recycle quickly, which means they are likely to control possession even without Schmid and Ghedjemis on the flanks. Raimondo has already shown his value as a finisher with two goals in two games and Kvernadze provides width from the right. Frosinone's high press could exploit Venezia's makeshift defensive line, which under Stroppa has shown a tendency to play long rather than build through pressure and both of Venezia's goals conceded this season came in the second half, which may point to a fitness and depth problem that will only become more acute as the match progresses.
Venezia's 3-5-2 relies on Busio's energy to drive transitions, with Adams and Yeboah threatening in behind but the absences of Franjic, Sverko and Mazzocchi leave the shape undermanned at wing back and in central defence. Without Sverko and Franjic to organise the back three, Venezia look vulnerable to Frosinone's deliberate set piece threat, particularly on corners and crosses where Raimondo and Calo are both capable aerially. The Calo versus Busio contest in central midfield is probably the most telling individual battle on the pitch: Calo's pressing triggers and ability to recycle possession are what make Frosinone function, whereas Busio will need to compensate for the personnel gaps around him far more than he would in a full strength side. Busio driving forward and Adams running in behind could punish Frosinone if they push numbers up and leave space in behind but sustaining that threat across ninety minutes with a thin bench is a different proposition entirely.
Frosinone lead the historical series narrowly with five wins to Venezia's four, though recent meetings in Serie B produced mixed results with neither side carrying a meaningful psychological edge.
Frosinone 2-1 Venezia. Raimondo's two goals in two games and Calo's control in midfield give Frosinone a functional attacking axis that Venezia, missing several of their defensive starters, have not yet shown they can contain. Busio and Adams remain Venezia's best outlet on the counter and may nick a late goal if Frosinone push for a second and leave space in behind but five absences limit their capacity to sustain a challenge and a third defeat would leave Venezia six points adrift of safety heading into the international break.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
