It is not everyday that a Serie B manager draws comparison with a Marvel superhero, but Pierpaolo Bisoli can now lay claim to that particular feat.

On Tuesday, La Gazzetta dello Sport renamed the Brescia head coach Professor X, a nod to the nickname of popular X-Men character Xavier.

The moniker, of course, is a not-so-subtle dig at the Rondinelle‘s propensity to draw games – X referring to the draw in the three-way betting system – under Bisoli, since he replaced the sacked Rolando Maran last month.

Brescia have drawn all five matches under Bisoli, the latter coming on Sunday as Gabriele Moncini’s second half equaliser cancelled out Massimo Coda’s opener to earn a point at home against Sampdoria.

The former Brescia midfielder has ditched the 4-3-2-1 implemented by his predecessor in favour of a more physical and dynamic 3-5-2, which has since given way to a more traditional 4-4-2 over the past two matches.

Ante Matej Juric has been given the nod to partner Moncini, the club’s top scorer with four goals, up-front while 19-year-old Patrick Nuamah has made the left-winger position his own.

While progression has been slow, Brescia’s unbeaten run has if nothing else allowed them to open a three-point buffer over the Blucerchiati, who are currently occupying the relegation play-off spots. More significantly, the final play-off spot remains only three points away.

And Bisoli insisted there were positives to be drawn from his first month in charge, despite the lack of wins.

“We are unbeaten in the past five games,” he said. “We’re on the right path.”

Bisoli’s quest for a first win takes him and his team to Bari on Saturday, in a fixture dripping with 1990s Serie A nostalgia.

The Galletti are six places above Brescia in the table but such is the concertina nature of Serie B that they are only four points ahead of the Rondinelle, with whom they share a penchant for drawing.

With 10 draws, Bari are one of four teams alongside Catanzaro (13), Modena and Cosenza (both 10), to have drawn more games than Brescia this season and, true to form, head into the weekend on the back of a stalemate draw against Reggiana.

After a three-game losing run over Christmas – with no goals scored – threatened to derail their season, Bari ended 2024 with an impressive 2-0 win over Spezia – only the Ligurians’ second defeat this term – and the point against Reggiana kept them firmly in the play-off picture.

And Longo was at pains to remind everyone the Galletti are exceeding expectations after only narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

“It wasn’t a given that Bari would be in this position,” he said. “Expecting 30 matches like the one against Spezia is unrealistic.

“We can address our shortcomings through hard work or the transfer market, but I have no control over the latter.”

Like Bari, Brescia are still to make any moves in the January transfer window, but Bisoli remains happy with the squad at his disposal.

“I want to emphasise that I’m very happy with this team as it is,” he said. “There was speculation about some players leaving, but I hope we can keep this group together.”

Predictably, the first meeting of the season between these two sides ended in a draw back in November, with Mehdi Dorval’s first half strike cancelling out Nicolas Galazzi’s first minute opener. Expect more of the same this weekend.