Catanzaro appear to be losing form at just the wrong time in the Serie B play-off race.

The Calabrian side have won just once in the last five and in their last outing believed they’d taken all three points away to Carrarese, only for the home side to hit back 10 minutes from the end.

The southern outfit are slipping further and further away from Cremonese in fourth spot, and while they’re very much still likely to secure a shot at promotion to the big time, the higher they finish the more their odds will improve.

Boss Fabio Caserta knows his side need to regain form going into the final run of matches.

“We certainly don’t have the clarity of the previous games, I think that’s normal,” said Caserta. 

“We’ve given a lot up to now. When the victory doesn’t come, we always tend to look at the negative aspect, but this team continues to push hard and will do so until the end.”

Catanzaro welcome Palermo to the Stadio Nicola Ceravolo on Sunday in what is now a battle between sixth and seventh.

A win for Palermo would see the Rosanero leapfrog Caserta’s side, but a Catanzaro victory would restore confidence and widen the gap between the pair to six points.

Moreover, Catanzaro could potentially jump above Juve Stabia and back into fifth, should the Campania outfit fail to win away against Sudtirol. 

Therefore, this fixture means a lot to both sides.

Palermo, meanwhile, continue to show major inconsistency. The club’s stunning 5-3 home win against champions-to-be Sassuolo in early April was followed up with a 2-1 defeat at Bari the following week.

Joel Pohjanpalo continues to score goals. The Finnish striker has been one of the buys of the season, and he only arrived in late January.

Already with nine goals in as many games, the former Venezia striker has lit the fuse for the club’s play-off push, but the problem for Alessio Dionisi’s men is at the other end.

Palermo have kept just two clean sheets in the last three months, and in the last four games have shipped nine goals.

This is the kind of leaky defence Catanzaro’s captain and top scorer Pietro Iemmello will punish if given half the chance.

The expectation is on Palermo to make the play-offs considering their spend last summer and this winter, yet their run-in isn’t the easiest.

Games against Sudtirol, Cesena, Frosinone and Carrarese remain, and so gaining a win on Sunday will be vital for promotion aspirations.

The meeting could boil down to a fight between Iemmello and Pohjanpalo, two of the division’s top marksman with 25 goals between them.

For the viewers at home, there will be goals, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if both got on the scoresheet. 

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