Reggina can still avoid the drop

Serie A results last weekend gave a strong indication that the title race this season could be restricted to two teams - Inter and Roma. Third-placed Palermo could have stayed in the hunt on Sunday evening but they were crushed by a rampant Roma side looking to make up for the upset in the derby the previous week.

With a clutch of teams fighting for berths in European club competitions at the end of the championship, focus shifts on the red zone in the standings.

Udinese, Sampdoria, Siena, Empoli, Livorno, Atalanta, Torino and Catania, are all doing well this season, particularly the latter three who were promoted last June.

The January transfer window may serve as an opportunity for these clubs to bolster their squads and retain their position away from the bottom places.

At the wrong end of the table, the main priority for six troubled clubs is to try and extend their stay in Serie A for another year.

Ascoli, now under the charge of veteran Nedo Sonetti, already look down and out as they have only six points to show from their opening 16 fixtures. They are still in search of their first win.

Sonetti may have been successful in 2005/06 when he led Cagliari to safety after a disastrous start but there's no guarantee he could repeat his trick this time.

Ascoli are a club in crisis. Unless they secure a number of new signings next month the likelihood is that they will be relegated.

Walter Mazzarri's Reggina are currently second from bottom. The southerners have been playing some exciting football lately and, perhaps, that is the main reason why they have already collected 20 points. They were originally docked 15 points and lately had their handicap reduced to -11.

Without the points penalty, Reggina would be level on points with Sampdoria and Udinese.

But, if they win points more consistently Reggina look strong enough to avoid the drop notwithstanding last week's upset at home to Sampdoria.

At Chievo, Luigi Del Neri's heart-rate could reach an all-time high this season.

After unsuccessful stints at Porto, Roma and Palermo, the return at Verona was a bold gamble for him.

Chievo upped their game with Del Neri back on the bench but are still 16 points away from last year's tally at this same corresponding period of the season.

Giordano's resolve

Bruno Giordano, a novice to Serie A, will not let his Messina players settle for half measures.

A promising start augured well for the Sicilians. However, misery was to follow as Messina lost their last five outings and are now three points above the drop zone.

Messina may have two points more with respect to last season, but they have to prove that they are no pushovers in the league.

Parma are so inspiring and convincing in the UEFA Cup but rather poor and colourless when playing at home. The side will have to work hard to improve their position.

Cagliari boss Massimo Cellino has done it again this season. The Sardinians changed hands three times in 2005/06 until Sonetti did the job for them. This time Cellino is pushing his luck yet again after sacking Marco Giampaolo following Sunday's 1-3 defeat to Udinese.

It is still premature for strugglers to forecast the number of points needed to ensure survival this season.

Indeed, it is hard to predict who will reach the target and those who will fall short of expectations.

As things stand at the moment, Ascoli, Parma and Messina look to be in dire straits even though fortunes can change dramatically after the closure of the January transfer window... only time will tell.

Serie A statistics

1 win and four draws for Milan in their last five outings. On Saturday, Milan surrendered an early lead before conceding a goal in each half and grabbing a last-gasp equaliser against Fiorentina in Tuscany. Milan have conquered the Artemio Franchi stadium only once - 2-1 on April 30, 2005 - in their last five visits. In an action-packed encounter, Livorno-Lazio shared the spoils for the first time since November 28, 1948 (1-1). Lazio have an awful record in Livorno, where they have registered only two wins in 15 Serie A visits. Their most recent success dates back to February 19, 1939 (3-2).

4 wins (vs Sampdoria 1-0, Atalanta 2-1, Empoli 1-0 and Ascoli 2-0) and a goalless draw against Milan catapulted Torino to new heights. On Sunday, Alberto Zaccheroni's side chalked up their second win in 14 Serie A visits to Ascoli's Del Duca stadium. Ascoli - the only side without a win - have collected only two of their last available 15 points. Marco Giampaolo became the latest coaching casualty following Cagliari's 1-3 defeat to Udinese. The northeasterners were simply a cut above Cagliari as they looked to bounce back from a barren run of late (one draw and two defeats). The negative result confirmed Cagliari's unfavourable record in Udine, where they have never prevailed. Cagliari's most recent positive result at the Friuli stadium dates back to January 16, 1994 (1-1).

5 penalties were ordered by referees last weekend. Francesco Totti doubled Roma's lead from the spot against Palermo. Alessandro Rosina ably transformed his second penalty of the term for Torino and later on in the game, Sasa Bjelanovic had a golden opportunity to bring Ascoli back on level terms but keeper Christian Abbiati blocked his penalty. Adrian Mutu scored Fiorentina's first-half equaliser against Milan from the spot and Andrea Zanchetta broke the deadlock from a penalty for Chievo in their basement clash with Parma.

6 players - Fabio Simplicio (Palermo), Daniele Portanova (Siena), Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio), Michelangelo Minieri (Ascoli), Marco Di Loreto (Torino) and Sulley Muntari (Udinese) - received marching orders by referees. Moreover, there were two coaches who were ordered off their bench - Bruno Giordano (Messina) and Mario Beretta (Siena).

7 winless games in a row (four draws and three defeats) hindered Siena's progress significantly. Siena continued to lose ground as they could only share the spoils with Atalanta - one of their direct rivals for a UEFA Cup berth - at home last Sunday. Sampdoria extended their positive streak to three games (two away wins and a goalless home draw) as they overcame Reggina. This was Samp's second win in four Serie A visits to Reggio Calabria.

9th win on the trot for Inter as they recovered from a shaky start and edged lowly Messina 2-0 at home. The hosts were far from convincing in the first half but then stepped up several gears to hand Messina their fifth straight defeat. The southerners have a poor record in Milan, where they have always finished on the losing side in five Serie A visits there. Luciano Spalletti's Roma remained within sights of Inter as they trounced Palermo 4-0. From their most recent five league outings Palermo had one win (vs Livorno 3-0) to show and a goalless draw with Parma.

25 goals were scored on the 16th day (Catania-Empoli was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch). Total number of goals scored so far amount to 393. Last weekend, foreigners contributed with nine goals while there were 16 second-half goals. Five players - Alessandro Rosina (Torino), Francesco Totti, Mancini (both Roma), Alberto Gilardino (Milan) and Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina) - grabbed a brace each. Cagliari's Andrea Cocco was the only player who came on as a substitute and scored. Last Sunday's double against Palermo saw Totti going top of the goalscorers' list with 11 goals (three penalties). The Roma captain is followed by Mutu and Messina's Christian Riganò... both on the nine-goal mark.