As reported Bresciaoggi, one day from the end of the championship, the Serie B standings say: Palermo in sixth place with 53 points, Sampdoria in seventh with 52, Brescia eighth with 51. In the play-offs, the fifth against the eighth and the sixth against the seventh will compete in the preliminary round. At this moment Brescia would be playing against the fifth, which is certainly the Catanzaro, Saturday 18 May at 8.30 pm at the Ceravolo stadium, where the biancazzurri achieved their first away success under the management of Rolando Maran, 3-2 on 23 December, recovering from a 0-2 deficit at half-time with goals from Bjarnason, Bisoli and Bianchi.
If he finished sixth or seventh he would play Friday 17 (remember President Cellino’s superstition…) at 8.30pm: at home if he were sixth, away from seventh. What needs to happen to overtake Sampdoria and Palermo in one fell swoop? Meanwhile, Brescia has the advantage with both in the direct clashes in the event of an ex aequo finish: 3-1, 1-1 with Andrea Pirlo’s Blucerchiati; 0-1, 4-2 with the rosanero before Eugenio Corini and time to Michele Mignani. To finish in sixth place, Brescia must win in Bari, which in the event of a defeat would almost certainly be relegated to Serie C unless Ascoli, third from last on equal merit with the red and whites (38 points), lose at home against Pisa: in that case, for the direct clashes in favor, Bari in the play-outs and Ascoli in C with Feralpisalò and Lecco.
In case of a big blow to Saint Nicholas and if Sampdoria failed to win in Catanzaro and Palermo in Bolzano, Brescia would catch the Sicilians and overtake the Blucerchiati. And for the head-to-head matches they would be in sixth place and, therefore, would play the preliminary round at home on the evening of Friday the 17th (always watch out for presidential superstition…).
