Survival is main objective for 2009/10 Serie A newcomers

The three newcomers in the 2009/10 Serie A, Bari, Parma and Livorno, along with a number of teams who narrowly escaped relegation last season, are expected to battle it out to avoid a bottom-three finish when the new campaign gets underway later this month.

These teams will be looking to make a solid start to boost their chances of staving off relegation.

Catania and Siena gained a clear edge over the other relegation rivals last season thanks to the positive results they achieved in the early months. However, as always, consistency is the name of the game.

Last season, Bari took the Serie B by storm as they dominated the league practically from start to finish. Coach Antonio Conte masterminded Bari's promotion to the Serie A.

In the close season, Juventus, Conte's former club, were undecided as to who, between Conte and Ciro Ferrara, would succeed Claudio Ranieri on a permanent basis. Although Conte was initially seen as favourite for the post, Juventus opted for Ferrara.

After weeks of uncertainty over his position at Bari, Conte parted company with the club over what he claimed was a lack of transfer funds to strengthen his squad.

Veteran coach Giampiero Ventura was appointed as Conte's successor. In the meantime, key midfielders Stefano Guberti (Roma) and Davide Lanzafame (Parma) left in search of pastures new, making Ventura's task all the more difficult.

Few signings of note - Bari have brought in several young and promising players from the lower divisions - and speculation surrounding the sale of the club, are other factors one must take into account when assessing Bari's chances of staying up.

The arrival of Antonio Langella from Chievo will add quality and experience to Bari's attack but they still need more reinforcements to really bolster their chances of prolonging their stay in the top division.

Parma have underlined their intentions to keep their Serie A status by making several new signings, including those of Christian Panucci (Roma), Valeri Bojinov (Manchester City) and Hernan Dellafiore (Palermo).

Tommaso Ghirardi, Parma's ambitious president, is keen to acquire more players but coach Francesco Guidolin's key men will be Stefano Morrone in midfield and striker Alberto Paloschi who is being considered as Filippo Inzaghi's heir at Milan.

Livorno will look to veteran striker Cristiano Lucarelli, who has made a headline-grabbing return to the club he supports and for whom he has already played between 2003-2007, for inspiration as the ex-Parma hit-man teams up with Francesco Tavano and the up-and-coming Alessandro Diamanti up front.

Next season, Livorno will be led by ex-Genoa hero Gennaro Ruotolo but officially, Gennaro Russo is the team's coach.

Marco Giampaolo almost moved to Serie B club Torino this summer but Siena refused to release him. Siena will be largely unchanged from last season.

The Tuscan side's major signings are striker Reginaldo (Parma) and Francesco Parravicini (Atalanta) but they have lost three key players in Juan Zuniga (Napoli), Daniele Galloppa (Parma) and Houssine Kharja (Genoa).

For Siena, much will depend on the players' motivation and attitude during the season.

If Giampaolo manages to get the best out of his players, then Siena have what it takes to extend their Serie A stay.

Up to a couple of days ago, new owners were expected to take control of Bologna. But, the much-touted takeover deal has failed to materialise and this has inevitably left several important questions unanswered regarding the club's transfer policy.

Giacomo Tedesco (Catania) will have to plug the gap left by the departure of veteran playmaker Sergio Volpi (Reggina) in an otherwise unchanged Bologna team.

Bologna have also lost the services of a number of experienced players, namely Francesco Antonioli, Cesar, Christian Amoroso and Marcello Castellini, all of whom became free agents this summer.

Giuseppe Papadopulo performed wonders towards the end of last season as he helped Bologna escape relegation at the expense of the more-quoted Torino.

The veteran coach faces an uphill struggle to repeat last season's feat unless Bologna invest in new players before the end of the transfer window.

Chievo, so poor at the beginning of last season yet so effective and consistent in the second part of the campaign, will rely on virtually the same core of players.

Luca Ariatti (Lecce) is Chievo's major signing to date.

Coach Domenico Di Carlo hopes to get his Chievo side off to a strong start and not leave it late to ensure safety. To their advantage, Chievo need not go through a bumpy period of transition because they have not made major changes to their squad.