One of football’s oldest truisms is that league seasons are a marathon and not a sprint, but good luck applying that to this Serie B campaign.

With eight matches left there’s everything to play for in the fight for a top-eight finish in calcio’s second tier.

From third-placed Spezia to ninth-placed Palermo, six teams are still in the hunt for a play-off spot and the Ligurians have not given up hopes of beating Pisa, five points clear of them in second, to automatic promotion.

Meanwhile, five points separate 10th-placed Modena from 19th-placed Salernitana, making the race to avoid relegation even more gripping than the tussle for promotion.

Never mind marathons, the next eight weeks could be more chaotic than the finish of a Giro d’Italia stage.

With a 14-point gap on Spezia, league leaders Sassuolo are almost mathematically certain of a return to Serie A and Pisa look odds-on to join them. Beyond them, predicting the outcome of the race for the play-offs is a fool’s errand – but we’ll try anyway.

Spezia – 55 points

There is never a good moment to fluff your lines, but Spezia’s timing was particularly bad. The Ligurians have won just two of their seven games since beating Sassuolo at the end of January, drawing four times in the process, a run which will probably cost them automatic promotion.

The win against Pisa earlier this month was bookended by frustrating draws against Sudtirol and Cesena, leaving them five points adrift of the Tuscans.

It is a sizeable margin to make up but Spezia have an easier run-in than Pisa with five of their remaining fixtures at home, starting with games against Brescia and Sampdoria, both winless in almost two months and who would square off in a relegation play-out as it stands.

A trip to 18th-placed Mantova comes next, before Serie B bottom-dwellers Cosenza visit the Armando Picco. The next three games are against teams looking to avoid relegation in Frosinone, Salernitana and Reggiana before promotion-chasing Cremonese visit on the final day of the season.

Spezia have a play-off spot all but nailed on and while automatic promotion may be out of their control, expect them to give Pisa a run for their money.

Remaining fixtures: Brescia (h, March 28), Sampdoria (h, April 6), Mantova (a, April 13), Cosenza (h, April 21), Frosinone (a, April 25), Salernitana (h, May 1), Reggiana (a, May 4), Cremonese (h, May 9)

Cremonese – 48 points

Two consecutive wins before the international break was exactly the kind of tonic Cremonese needed after picking up two points in the previous three fixtures.

The Grigiorossi are fourth in the table, a position which would earn a bye in the first round of the play-offs and a spot in the semi-final alongside Spezia.

Giovanni Stroppa has finally got a tune out of his team, who have the third-best attack in Serie B after Sassuolo and Pisa. The margin for error, however, remains slim with Catanzaro just two points behind Cremonese and Juve Stabia a further three back.

The Stabians visit Cremona in two weeks, a difficult test in a tricky run-in which also includes trips to Pisa and La Spezia and a home match against Sassuolo.

Home games against Cittadella and Mantova must return six points if Cremonese are to hang on to fourth place.

Remaining fixtures: Cittadella (h, March 29), Reggiana (a, April 4), Juve Stabia (h, April 13), Pisa (a, April 21), Mantova (h, April 25), Sampdoria (a, May 1), Sassuolo (h, May 4), Spezia (a, May 9)

Catanzaro – 46 points

Twelve months on from losing the semi-final against Cremonese, Catanzaro are knocking on the door again.

In his first season in charge, Fabio Caserta was expected to oversee a period of transition, instead he has the Giallorossi firmly in the race for the play-offs.

Three wins in five matches before the international break left Catanzaro fifth in the table, two points behind Cremonese and with a healthy seven-point buffer over ninth-placed Palermo.

The run-in, however, is not for the faint-hearted. Five of the Calabrians’ remaining matches are away and include visits to Juve Stabia and Sassuolo, while two of their home fixtures are against promotion-chasing Bari and Palermo.

Then again, with Pietro Iemmello in fine form Catanzaro will back themselves to win every game.

Remaining fixtures: Modena (a, March 29), Bari (h, April 6), Carrarese (a, April 12), Mantova (a, April 21), Palermo (h, April 26), Juve Stabia (a, May 1), Sampdoria (h, May 4), Sassuolo (a, May 9)

Juve Stabia – 43 points

Juve Stabia went into the international break on the back of a much-needed win against Modena after momentum had been checked by a run of two defeats and a draw in the previous three weeks.

The win left Guido Pagliuca’s men sixth in the table, five points adrift of fourth-placed Cremonese ahead of a potentially crucial showdown against fellow surprise package Cesena on Sunday.

Like the Bianconeri, the Stabians are chasing a second consecutive promotion, a remarkable run for a team that was not even expected to be in the conversations for the play-offs.

But that is exactly where the Wasps find themselves.

Can they hold their nerve over a tricky run-in? Trips to Cesena and Cremona shape up as difficult tests, much like the visit of Catanzaro to the Romeo Menti in May.

Conversely, fixtures against relegation-threatened Sampdoria, Salernitana and Brescia should offer enough chances to pick up points.

Remaining fixtures: Cesena (a, March 30), Salernitana (h, April 5), Cremonese (a, April 13), Sampdoria (h, April 21),  Sudtirol (a, April 26), Catanzaro (h, May 1), Brescia (a, May 4), Reggiana (h, May 9)

Cesena – 42 points

Unbeaten in almost two months, the Seahorses are seventh in the table, right in the thick of the play-off race and arguably the most in-form team in the division with three wins and three draws in their last six outings – a record bettered only by table-topping Sassuolo.

Cesena’s hopes of a second promotion on the bounce looked dead and buried after a run of five defeats in six matches in December, but they have lost just once in 2025.

Winning five points in three games against Pisa, Spezia and Cremonese only cemented their credentials but the gap to ninth-placed Palermo is just three points.

A play-off spot is still far from sealed but Cesena’s run-in is easier on paper than those of their rivals.

Juve Stabia, visitors to the Manuzzi on Sunday, and Sassuolo are the only teams in the top eight still on the Bianconeri’s calendar. 

Remaining fixtures: Juve Stabia (h, March 30), Sudtirol (a, April 5), Frosinone (h, April 13), Modena (a, April 21), Sassuolo (h, April 25), Mantova (a, May 1), Palermo (h, May 4), Cosenza (a, May 9) 

Bari – 40 points

The last team in the play-off places, Bari are a case study for those debating the importance of draws. The Galletti have had 16 of them this season, the joint-highest in Serie B along with Catanzaro, who are one of only three teams (Spezia and Sassuolo are the other two) to lose fewer games than Bari’s six.

But the Pugliesi’s eight wins are also the fewest of any team in the top nine and their five-game unbeaten run has delivered just one victory.

With Palermo just a point behind them, finding a way to turn draws into wins will be crucial for Bari over the next eight weeks.

The Sicilians visit the San Nicola in two weeks, one of the three standout fixtures of a run-in which also includes a trip to Catanzaro the previous week and a home fixture against Pisa.

Away fixtures at Sudtirol, Cosenza and Cittadella are easier on paper, provided Bari can find a way to get over the line.

Remaining fixtures: Carrarerse (a, March 30), Catanzaro (a, April 6), Palermo (h, April 11), Sudtirol (a, April 21), Modena (h, April 25), Cosenza (a, May 1), Pisa (h, May 4), Cittadella (a, May 9)