When it comes to diagnosing the roots of the malaise that has afflicted Palermo this season, Matteo Brunori has precious few doubts.

“The fact that we haven’t been able to put together a winning streak has been a problem,” the Rosanero captain told La Gazzetta dello Sport this week.

“We’ve only won two games in a row. This inconsistency is affecting our confidence. We need to find more consistency in our performances.”

And Palermo have indeed been frustratingly inconsistent. Sunday’s 2-2 against Spezia left the Sicilians ninth in the Serie B table, two points adrift of the final play-off spot and nursing a familiar sense of what could have been.

Taken in a vacuum, a draw away from home against the team currently sitting third in calcio‘s second tier may seem a positive result particularly after two consecutive defeats.

The perception, however, changes dramatically when one considers that Palermo were two goals to the good with 90 minutes on the clock and somehow contrived to concede twice in three minutes as the Ligurians rescued an unexpected point.

That is now eight goals the Rosanero have conceded past the 75th minute-mark, an unsustainable trend for any team, let alone one harbouring hopes of promotion to Serie A.

In a bid to turn those hopes into reality, City Football Group, who have owned Palermo since 2022, strengthened the team to the tune of €5m (£4.2m) worth of signings after spending almost twice as much in the summer transfer window.

Joel Pohjanpalo arrived for €4m from Venezia, while Giangiacomo Magnani signed from Verona for €600,000 and former Sampdoria and Juventus goalkeeper Emil Audero signed from Como on a loan deal to add vital experience. 

The latter pair made an instant impact against Spezia, but Pohjanpalo was made to wait to open his account for Palermo. The Finnish fired Venezia to promotion with 22 goals in 33 Serie B games last season after netting 19 in 37 in his debut campaign and the Rosanero will need his goals if they’re to reach the play-offs this term.

For the time being, Pohjanpalo can bide his time as Brunori has found the net three times in the past five matches since returning to the starting XI on Boxing Day, while summer signing Jeremy Le Douaron has four in his last seven appearances.

Alessio Dionisi will be hoping the pair can continue their rich vein of form when Palermo host Mantova, who held them to a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture at the end of October, at the Renzo Barbera on Sunday afternoon.

As little as three weeks ago, the Biancorossi were considered a potential dark horse in the race for the play-offs after losing just twice in 10 matches, but defeats by Modena and Sassuolo over their past two outings have seen them plunge to 15th in the table, just one point clear of Carrarese who would face Salernitana in a relegation play-out if the season were to end now.

While a promotion push always seemed a tall order for a team that was expected to be fighting to avoid relegation in their first season back in Italian football’s second tier for 15 years, Mantova’s slide over the past two weeks has been ominous.

Only 19th-placed Sudtirol have conceded more goals than Davide Possanzini’s men, who have won just once in their last seven games. It is a chance Palermo cannot afford to spurn, as Brunori knows all too well.

“We have a real opportunity to reach the play-offs, but we need to go into them with a positive mindset,” he said.

“Our experience from last season has taught us the importance of momentum. We need to build on our recent performances and go into the play-offs with confidence.”

Watch Palermo vs Mantova LIVE this Sunday at 14:00 GMT on tv.destinationcalcio.com or on our app. Download to your Android or Apple device today.