Palermo had a poor first half in the current campaign and they’re flirting with relegation while Juventus are top of the standings and marching on towards another league title.

With the bottom three teams in the Serie A standings requiring something of a miracle to avoid the drop, it seems that the season is also completed for a group of other teams currently floating in a safe mid-table position.

Pescara, Palermo and Crotone failed to get their campaign going so far and it will be difficult for them to retain their top status for another year.

Moving up the table, the gap between ninth-placed Torino and Lazio, in fifth place, is nine points, virtually leaving the Maroons with little or no hope of aspiring for a berth in the UEFA Europa League in 2017-18.

Crotone and Pescara made it to the top flight from the Serie B last year along with Cagliari.

The Sardegna outfit are currently 14th in the table and safe from relegation. However, the same cannot be said of the other two promoted sides.

Massimo Oddo’s Pescara, who play their game in hand at home to Fiorentina tonight, are currently bottom with nine points from 21 games. With 17 games left, they are still to record their first win on the field of play.

In fact, Pescara’s only moment of hurray came on match-day two when a 1-2 upset to Sassuolo was overturned to a 3-0 win on the table after the host team fielded an ineligible player.

Crotone, who play their game in hand at home to Juventus on February 8, have done slightly better than Pescara – three wins and four draws.

However, they remain an-chored in the red zone, eight points adrift of fourth-bottom Empoli, the side Crotone beat 4-1 last Sunday to revive their hopes.

Zamparini’s choice

Last season, Palermo only made sure of survival on the final day of the campaign. But instead of bolstering an already weak side, club supremo Maurizio Zamparini stripped the side of its most experienced players and replaced them with virtually unknowns.

Although promising, the newcomers need time to settle in their new environs. Palermo are yet to leave an impact on the championship, managing only two wins and five draws in 22 outings.

Last week, the Sicilians unveiled their 11th coach in 15 months… Diego Lopez. He could not have aspired for a brighter start as Palermo held third-placed Napoli to a 1-1 draw away.

In his aftermatch comments, Lopez said the point they won at Napoli might not seem like much, but “to us it’s huge”.

Palermo had almost snatched victory at the San Paolo but Dries Mertens cancelled Ilija Nesto-rovski’s opener for 1-1.

“I have been on the other side as a player, so I know what it’s like to see many management changes, but the important thing was to go the Naples and play as a team,” Lopez was quoted as saying.

“It’s difficult, there’s a long way to go, but I feel we are on the right track. If we all believe and work like this, we can do it.”

At the top of the table, Juventus are now enjoying a four-point lead over Roma (47 points) as Napoli (45) have fallen further behind – six points adrift of the Bianconeri.

Inter (42) soared to fourth place and in a good position to challenge for a place in the Champions League as Lazio (40), Atalanta (39), Milan (37), Fiorentina (34) are also in contention.

Inter have a crucial away fixture coming up on Sunday – against Juventus in Turin.

As the championship has evolved, the top eight teams are either challenging for the title or a Euro club berth while the bottom three face a very difficult task to avoid slipping to Serie B.

That leaves the remaining nine teams in the top flight with virtually no real objectives to fight for in the league.

Under normal circumstances in domestic club football, something like this normally happens towards the end of the campaign but this year the Serie A took a different twist.

Such situation will inevitably imply that unlike past seasons, the direct clashes coming up will carry more significance as to who claims the Scudetto and which teams qualify for European competition next season.