With 78 points still up for grabs in the Serie A, several teams are in-volved in one way or another in the battle against relegation.
Carpi and Verona found the going tough from the start and currently share bottom spot with just six points from 12 games. Frosinone have 11 points, one behind Udinese and Bologna.
Although these five clubs are occupying the most precarious positions, they are not the only ones flirting with the drop at this relatively early stage of the campaign. In fact, a few teams in mid-table are also in danger of slipping back into the relegation zone.
So much so that, in the last few days, misfiring Sampdoria, who have 16 points, and Palermo, on 14 points, fired their coaches to try and reverse their fortunes.
Carpi have already been through two coaching changes.
After the sixth day, the Serie A newcomers dismissed Fabrizio Castori, the man who led them to their first ever Serie A promotion, at a time when they had just two points to their credit.
A 2-1 win over Torino on his debut augured well for Giuseppe Sannino but a bleak run of one draw and three defeats meant that he himself became a coaching casualty as Carpi re-appointed Castori after the 11th day.
However, Carpi lost again – 0-1 away to in-form Sassuolo – on Castori’s return.
Verona’s fall from grace was unexpected. They did well in the last two seasons – mainly owing to a bright start – but this time around, they are still to record their first victory.
Coach Andrea Mandorlini has come in for a lot of criticism for his tactics. Verona are still to find their feet and they possess the worst scoring record in the division – eight goals in 12 games.
Frosinone, who like Carpi are in their first season in the Serie A, are doing slightly better but in general, they need to improve by leaps and bounds if they are to keep their heads above water.
Frosinone’s 1-1 draw with Juventus on the fifth day is so far their only positive result on the road.
Udinese’s failures
A 1-0 win at reigning champions Juventus looked like a good omen for Udinese. But since then, the northeasterners have only managed two wins and three draws, leaving them in serious relegation trouble.
Bologna were heading nowhere until they sacked coach Delio Rossi after the 10th day (two wins and eight defeats) and brought in former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni.
In their last two outings, Bologna seemed to be a completely transformed side as they overcame Atalanta (3-0) and Verona (2-0).
Torino started the season firing on all cylinders before going through a bad spell.
This dip in form could be down to their long injury list.
Since October, the Maroons managed only two draws (against Milan 1-1 and Genoa 3-3) in six outings.
Moreover, Giampiero Ventura’s men lost all their last four away fixtures (vs Chievo 0-1, Carpi 1-2, Lazio 0-3 and Juventus 1-2).
Suddenly, from a team that was aiming for an Europa League berth, Torino find themselves just four points above the drop zone.
Sandwiched between Torino, Bologna and Udinese, there is Empoli and Palermo (14 points each), Chievo and Genoa (13 points).
Marco Giampaolo is doing a re-markable job at Empoli. The Tuscany side have the youngest team in this season’s Serie A and it was always going to be difficult for them to cope without coach Maurizio Sarri, now in charge of Napoli.
Chievo, like Torino, began the season on a high but a seven-match winless run (three draws and four defeats) brought them back down to earth.
Despite losing the services of a number of key players during the summer transfer window, including prolific striker Paulo Dybala (Juventus) and midfielder Edgar Barreto (Sampdoria), Palermo are doing quite well.
However, club chief Maurizio Zamparini was not happy with the club’s run of four wins and two draws in 12 games. Only last week, Zamparini fired coach Giuseppe Iachini who was replaced by Davide Ballardini.
The 51-year-old Ballardini coached Palermo in season 2008/09 after he took over from Stefano Colantuono who was shown the exit door in September 2008.
Former Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga was also relieved of his coaching duties by Sampdoria last week. The Blucerchiati have since appointed former Roma, Catania and Fiorentina mentor Vincenzo Montella, who like Zenga, played for Samp in the past.
Under the charge of the former Inter custodian, Sampdoria managed four wins and four draws and were knocked out of the preliminary stages of the Europa League in the summer.