Bari have fallen at the final hurdle and are struggling to get up.

Despite drawing a ludicrous 17 games this season, Moreno Longo’s men have been in the play-off positions all season long.

And now they are not.

The surprising 3-1 defeat at Cittadella on Friday knocked them out of the top eight, with Cesena taking their place going into the final round of the Serie B season.

Bari now travel to Bolzano to face Sudtirol, who are a place below them but with nothing to play for. Cesena, meanwhile, are also away, having to make a short spin up the road to face Modena.

Longo’s side need Modena to secure all three points, while winning themselves against Sudtirol to clinch the the final play-off spot. 

For Michele Mignani and his Cesena troops, a point will be enough. 

Considering Bari have won a mere 10 games all season, the fewest of all the teams in the top half, and just three in their last 14, it would represent something of a minor miracle if they were to sneak back in.

They have been a strange case all season – capable of beating Pisa and Palermo but just as likely to lose to to Cittadella, Carrarese and Cosenza. 

On paper, Longo’s squad is more than good enough to be firmly in the play-off places but there has been an air of negativity surrounding the club all season, and losing to the league’s smaller sides has cost them at the business end of the campaign.

“From August to today, nothing has really changed. Same ingredients, same music, same limits,” wrote La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno following the Cittadella defeat.

The style of football has been what could be described as functional, at best, and Bari have scored the fewest goals of all the teams in the top half of the division. 

Moreover, Longo’s defence has been fragile all season: four clean sheets in the calendar year hardly screams solidity. 

Kevin Lasagna has been one of the biggest disappointments for Bari. Seven goals in 2024-25 is not the kind of return expected from a man who was getting double digits in Serie A only a few years ago.

Longo will be calling on the experienced striker to add to his tally in Bolzano, hoping he can roll back the years and find a winner. 

That being said, Lasagna has scored only three times since the end of November and was dropped for Nicholas Bonfanti for the Cittadella game.

Andrea Favilli, who has two in his last five and scored against Cittadella, is likely to lead the line alongside Lasagna. 

As for Sudtirol, this has been a season of improvement. In 2023-24, the Italian-German outfit finished 12th in Serie B. 

Under Fabrizio Castori, they have bettered that and should they emerge victorious against Bari they will leapfrog the Puglian side and finish ninth.

Castori’s men are finishing the campaign strong and are unbeaten in their last four games, including a cracking 3-3 draw with Pisa and a 2-1 away win against Palermo. Juve Stabia were bested at the end of April.

Castori is the club’s third coach of the season but he has turned things around in northern Italy.

Given the form of both sides, all signs point to a home victory. But then again, Bari win when least expected.

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