Luciano Spalletti’s Italy may take centre stage over the next 10 days with their Nations League quarter-final against Germany, but the international break is also a rare chance for Serie C to command the spotlight.

While both Serie A and Serie B are on hold this weekend, there is no pause on the horizon for calcio‘s third tier as the season enters its business end with just six matches remaining.

Arguably no division in the world “does” chaos as much as Serie C, where confusion and plot twists reign supreme. And it could hardly be otherwise when you consider the league is split in three groups of 20 teams each, with the winners of each gaining automatic promotion to Serie B.

The remaining promotion spot is contested among 28 teams over six rounds. To put those numbers into context, Euro 2024 – the most recent edition of the European Championship – featured 24 teams over five rounds.

Of the 28 teams chasing the final promotion spot, 27 are the teams that will finish between second and tenth in their respective regional groups, with the remaining club being the winner of the Coppa Italia Serie C.

The format is similarly convoluted at the other end of the table, where each of the bottom-placed teams in the three groups is automatically relegated and teams finishing between 16th to 19th squaring off against their group opponents in the relegation play-offs – or play-out as it’s referred to in Italy.

The relegation play-offs, however, only take place if the gap between the 16th and 19th-placed teams is bigger than eight points. Otherwise, the 19th-placed team will be automatically relegated. The same goes for the 17th and 18th-placed teams, with the latter automatically relegated if the gap between the two was to be nine points or bigger.

With the technicalities out of the way, let’s delve into each of the three groups to check the state of play.

Serie C – Girone A

Padova’s last-gasp win against Pergolettese consolidated their lead at the top of Girone A over arch-rivals Vicenza, who now trail the league leaders by four points after being held to a 1-1 draw away at Lecco on Monday night.

Trailing to a stunning long-range effort from Sean Parker, Padova levelled through a Mattia Bortolussi penalty early in the second half, before Cristian Buonaiuto sparked bedlam at the Stadio Euganeo with a 94th minute winner.

A January signing from Cremonese, the 32-year-old has now scored in his last two appearances and his latest goal could prove crucial in the race to promotion, which has long been a straight shootout between the two Veneto rivals.

Padova, crucially, have the upper hand on Vicenza not only in terms of points but in terms of head-to-head record, which would decide the league winner should both teams finish on the same number of points.

The Biancoscudati may be marching towards promotion, but their ultras remain steadfast in their commitment to boycotting home games and the Euganeo has been desolately empty for most of this season.

Twelve points behind Vicenza, FeralpiSalo have a nine-point buffer over Albinoleffe and Trento, who beat Alcione Milano 1-0 on Monday night. The result left the latter hanging on to the last play-off spot on goal difference alone ahead of Novara, who have now lost three on the bounce after a 2-0 defeat away to Caldiero Terme.

Meanwhile, one point separates Virtus Verona in sixth place to Atalanta Under-23 in ninth, with Renate and Giana Erminio sandwiched in between the two and Alcione four points adrift of Atalanta Under-23 with 42 points.

Below Novara, Union Arzignano, Pergolettese and Lumezzane are also all in with a shout of making the play-offs as they currently trail 10th-placed Alcione by one, three and four points respectively.

At the bottom end of the table it’s almost certainly curtains for Union Clodiense, who have now lost four in a row and have won justA three matches all season. With 18 points, they are seven adrift of Caldiero Terme, who are themselves eight points behind 16th-placed Triestina and on the verge of automatic relegation.

Seven points separate 16th-placed Pro Vercelli, who are winless in their last five fixtures, and 17th-placed Pro Patria whose 1-0 loss in Trieste on Sunday could prove very costly come the end of the season.

You can find the full standings here.

Serie C – Girone B

The title race is an even closer affair in Girone B, where Virtus Entella and Ternana continue to steamroll the rest of the competition. Fabio Gallo’s men thumped Sestri Levante 4-0 in the Derby del Tigullio in front of 4,000 to extend their unbeaten run to 26 matches, before Ternana replied by sweeping aside SPAL 3-0 in Ferrara with Serie C top scorer Emanuele Cicerelli bagging his 17th goal of the season to make it five wins on the bounce and remain two points behind their promotion rivals.

Virtus and Ternana have set a relentless pace throughout the season and bar unexpected slip-ups between now and the end of the season, the promotion race will be decided on the final day of the campaign when the Ligurians welcome Ignazio Abate’s team. Talk about fireworks.

Behind the runaway duo, three wins in the last five matches have propelled Pescara up to 58 points, 11 adrift of Ternana and one clear of Torres, who have gone off the boil at the worst possible time, losing three of their last four.

Luckily for them, fifth-placed Vis Pesaro have not seized the moment as they are stuck in a rot of their own and are winless in the last five fixtures, a run which included back-to-back defeats and left them on 52 points, three clear of Pineto.

The Abruzzesi, conversely, are on a great run of form with three wins and two draws in their last five since losing away to Gubbio on Valentine’s Day and have overtaken Arezzo on goal difference after the Amaranto‘s run of three consecutive wins ended with back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Athletic Carpi last week and Ascoli on Saturday.

Pianese are eighth on 47 points, four clear of Rimini and six ahead of Gubbio. The trio share a worrying penchant for inconsistency with Pianese’s win at the weekend coming after three straight defeats, while Rimini have alternated wins and losses over the past five weeks and Gubbio have followed two straight defeats with two wins and a draw in the past three weeks.

Athletic Carpi are one point behind Gubbio and still in the hunt for a play-off spot and the same can be said of the four teams below them, with three points separating 12th-placed Perugia from 15th-placed Ascoli.

And it’s all to play for at the wrong end of the table too, where Legnago Salus are currently rock bottom with 23 points after two consecutive defeats checked the momentum generated by two wins and a draw in the previous three outings. Also on 23 points, Sestri Levante would currently avoid automatic relegation on goal difference alone, while Milan Futuro have dropped like a stone over the past two months with five defeats and two draws in their last seven fixtures.

The Rossoneri‘s Under-23 side are just one point clear of the bottom two, with SPAL and Lucchese four and five points ahead respectively. As it stands, the Girone B is heading for the full relegation play-offs.

You can find the full standings here.

Serie C Girone C

It’s tight at the top in the Girone C too, with Audace Cerignola leading the race for automatic promotion with 58 points, one more than Avellino and seven more than Monopoli.

The league leaders lost 2-1 to Crotone on Sunday and have won just four points in their last three games, allowing Avellino to close the gap. The Lupi have gratefully accepted the invitation and have won five in a row after three consecutive defeats without scoring threatened to have derailed their promotion bid.

Crucially, Avellino have a game in hand over Audace Cerignola and in Facundo Lescano have one of the best strikers in the division, with the 28-year-old netting 15 goals already this term, second only to Potenza’s Salvatore Caturano in Girone C.

Caturano’s goals have propelled Potenza up to sixth in the table with 44 points, three adrift of Crotone and one behind Benevento, whose form has tailed off over the past month with five consecutive draws.

Two wins on the bounce have revived Catania’s play-off bid, with the Sicilians now up to seventh with 43 points, three ahead of Picerno who are unbeaten in five but have won just once over the period and five clear of Giugliano, whose erratic form has returned two wins, one draw and two defeats over the past month.

With 35 points, Cavese currently occupy the last play-off berth ahead of Juventus Next Gen on goal difference after the Bianconeri Under-23 team lost three of their four outings in March.

A point behind Juventus, Team Altamura are still technically in the play-off race as are Trapani, Sorrento and Foggia who are respectively, three, four and five points adrift of 10th place. But the trio have two wins between them in their last 15 combined fixtures and their dismal form doesn’t bode well for their hopes.

At the bottom end of the table, with Turris and Taranto already relegated after being excluded for financial irregularities, the battle for survival boils down to a shootout between Messina and Casertana.

The Sicilians’ defeat in the derby against Catania on Sunday left them 18th on the table with just 13 points, nine adrift of Casertana and almost certain to drop out of Serie C come the end of the season.

You can find the full standings here.