Everything still to play for

With 10 games to go, it is anyone's guess who will be the three relegated teams this season. One could possibly roam up to mid-table and include Atalanta and Catania in this fight against the drop, a tussle that is expected to go right to the end.

Atalanta and Catania are eight points clear of third-from-bottom Messina. Both teams had a very promising start to the Serie A season. There were times when Atalanta and Catania, in particular, were in the hunt for a place in European football next season.

Suddenly both teams hit a dark patch that has now changed their pre-season targets.

Critics do not consider Atalanta and Catania as prime favourites to go down but as past experience clearly shows, if poor form persists then these two teams would put their Serie A status in jeopardy.

In 2001/02, Alberto Malesani's Verona were in the upper echelons of the table after the first round. However, a slump in form saw them slipping to the wrong end of the table and ended up being relegated on the very last day of the season.

Atalanta and Catania have the quality within their squads to stave off the drop. But, they have to start winning points fast, especially Catania who are playing their home fixtures away from their Angelo Massimino stadium due to the ground ban after the incidents following the derby against Palermo on February 2.

Catania collected only three points from the last 33. They must stop the rot immediately or risk suffering the same fate of Verona five years ago.

Torino supremo Urbano Cairo did well to sack Alberto Zaccheroni last month and re-instate former coach Gianni De Biasi.

With Zaccheroni, the side was heading straight to the Serie B. But a series of good results (all against direct rivals) have given fresh hopes to Torino who are now on the 31-point mark.

Livorno and Siena are two other teams who did quite well in the first round but failed to keep the good work going .

They are now in the mire of relegation and as things stand both teams should consider themselves lucky if they escape the drop.

Chievo have improved significantly lately. Although they have the same points as Cagliari and Siena, Luigi Del Neri's side seem a good bet to avoid the bottom three places as they are showing constant progress game after game.

Like Torino, Cagliari re-called their former coach Marco Giampaolo. However, unlike the Granata, Giampaolo's return has so far failed to inspire the players. The fact that Cagliari have lost two direct encounters (vs Torino 0-1 and Chievo 0-2) in the last few weeks is indeed a bad sign.

Reggina are currently one point clear of the red zone. They would have been home and dry by now had they not been docked 11 points before the start of the season.

Walter Mazzarri has done a fantastic job. Surely, it was not easy to motivate a team to fight for survival after having started the season with a minus 11-point handicap.

Reggina are brimming with confidence and, in my opinion, they are absolute favourites to extend their stay in the top flight by at least another year.

Meanwhile, Nedo Sonetti has been doing a brilliant job in resuscitating the fortunes of bottom side Ascoli.

There were some encouraging results lately but Ascoli are still far away from safety.

Parma, too, were on their way down before Claudio Ranieri took over. There's a new fighting spirit in his young team now. Parma are in a dangerous position but with Ranieri around, they will fight until the end.

Messina have been quite erratic all season. Alberto Cavasin has not yet found the right formula and this ranks the Sicilians among those who could lose their place in the top flight next May.

Serie A statistics

3 wins (vs Cagliari 1-0, Catania 1-0 and Messina 3-0) from their last four outings saw Torino emerging from troubled waters. The notable change of fortunes should perhaps be attributed to the return of coach Gianni De Biasi. On Sunday, Torino retained their unbeaten streak at Messina, where they have won twice in three Serie A visits. Torino have now gone seven points clear of the drop zone whereas Alberto Cavasin's Messina are third from bottom. In another basement clash last weekend, Parma returned to winning ways as they edged Siena by a solitary Andrea Gasbarroni goal. This was Parma's first win after seven winless games in a row (four draws and three defeats). Siena have collected only three draws from their last eight outings.

4 penalties were awarded by referees last week. Alessandro Rosina doubled Torino's lead by converting a 78th-minute penalty, Rolando Bianchi made Reggina's win over Catania even more comprehensive by scoring from the spot late on and Massimo Bonanni reduced the arrears for Ascoli against Inter by scoring a stoppage-time penalty. Paulo Barreto wrapped up a sound win for Udinese against Livorno by converting a late penalty. Meanwhile, three players - Paul Codrea (Siena), Dario Dainelli (Fiorentina) and Giulio Falcone (Sampdoria) - were sent off by referees. Leaders Inter are still unbeaten. Bottom-of-the-class Ascoli have lost 15 of their 28 outings. Roma and Lazio have the best defensive record in the division with 22 goals against.

7 home wins on the trot have kept Milan in the hunt for the fourth spot. On Sunday, Carlo Ancelotti's side overcame Atalanta thanks to a Massimo Ambrosini goal to move closer to fourth-placed Palermo. The Sicilians are four points clear of Milan with the latter having a game in hand (vs Ascoli). With this defeat, Atalanta's winless streak has now extended to eight games (five draws and three defeats). Alberto Malesani's Udinese returned to winning ways after a barren run of six games (three draws and three defeats) by beating Livorno 4-0. With this defeat, Livorno have now gone five games without a win (three draws and two defeats).

8 defeats from their last 11 games have suddenly transformed Catania's season from an exceptional campaign and a dream quest for a UEFA Cup berth into a battle against relegation. On the neutral ground of Rimini on Sunday, Catania suffered their second successive upset (following the 0-1 reverse against Torino) after losing to Reggina 4-1. Catania are eight points clear of the red zone. Chievo, too, recorded a valuable away win against Cagliari to continue with their fight against relegation. This was Chievo's first ever win in three Serie A visits to Cagliari.

11 positive results in a row catapulted Lazio to third place in the standings. On Sunday, Delio Rossi's side were in superb form as they annihilated Empoli 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium to claim their sixth successive win and strengthen their position in the table. Empoli have never left the capital with a win in six Serie A visits. The only time the Tuscany side had avoided defeat in Rome was last year (3-3). Sampdoria and Palermo drew their match in a balanced match at the Luigi Ferraris stadium. These two teams had last shared the spoils on February 18, 1973 (0-0). All Sampdoria have to show from their last three outings are two draws. Palermo have now gone seven games without a win (five draws and two defeats).

18 points separate Inter from nearest pursuers Roma. Last weekend, Inter had to sweat for a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Ascoli, courtesy of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace. Ascoli's most recent of four wins in 16 Serie A home meetings with Inter dates back to March 20, 1988 (2-1). Also, Ascoli and Inter have last shared the spoils on January 13, 1985 (1-1). Roma could not go beyond a goalless draw in Florence against 10-man Fiorentina. The Viola have not beaten Roma at home since a convincing 3-1 win on April 9, 2001.

25 goals were scored on the 29th day: 12 coming from the hosts and the remaining 13 from the visitors, who chalked up no fewer than four victories. Foreigners contributed with nine goals while there were seven first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 700. Neither own goals nor hat-tricks were registered. Two players - Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter) and Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) - notched a brace each. There were five players, namely, Barreto (Udinese), Stellone (Torino), Rossini (Catania), Esteves (Reggina) and Bonanni (Ascoli), who came on as substitutes and scored. Rolando Bianchi (Reggina), Luca Toni (Fiorentina) and Ibrahimovic are currently three goals short of leading scorer Francesco Totti. The Roma captain scored 18 goals.