Relegation focus: Samp and Parma edge closer to the drop

With both Sampdoria and Parma losing again this weekend, and with them having to play the Milan clubs in the next Serie A round it certainly is going to be a tense end to the season for the followers of both these clubs. With two spots remaining for a trip to Serie B next season, if you assume Bari are already as good as down, and both these clubs being leapfrogged by Lecce at the weekend both Parma and Sampdoria, who both finished well within the top ten last season, are in serious danger.

And, there's more than that in common for both these clubs this campaign. Both have parted with their managers after suffering with their inconsistent results. In the case of Samp this is no surprise, internal divisions within the club have hardly helped matters and selling both of your best players has not helped either. For Parma it's a wonder that Marino was not sacked earlier and he again took what was on paper a decent side to the brink of relegation, just as he did last season at Udinese. It's this that points in Parma favour at least to beat the drop. They gave a good account of themselves against Lazio on Sunday even if they did lose 2-0 in the end and against a limping Inter Milan next week they could rally to pick up a point. The attacking talent is there when you examine their squad, the likes of Giovinco, Candreva, Amauri and Bojinov all have quality in the final third, something that is distinctly lacking in the Sampdoria side who look set to rely on Massimo Maccarone to bail them out of trouble.

At this stage it is hard to see Maccarone doing this. Milan are on a roll and should sweep all before them at the San Siro this weekend, and with Cesena entertaining Bari at home the next day Sampdoria could find themselves in the relegation zone come the end of round 33. Brescia of course are in the relegation zone as things stand as well and will probably still be their come week 38 when  you consider their next two games are at Genoa and then at home to Milan, but they do face Sampdoria in a six pointer in round 35. That game for Sampdoria, as well as their trip to Bari, will go a long way in defining their season as their other remaining encounters are against Milan, Roma, Genoa and Palermo. 

Difficult games indeed, but not as daunting as Parma's end to the season which sees them take on Inter, Udinese, Palermo, Bologna, Juventus and Cagliari. With these fixtures in mind Cesena and Brescia will look on in hope that they can surpass them and at this stage given the difficult nature of Parma and Sampdoria's fixtures certainly gives them half a chance, and given that Cesena have lost just once in their last five encounters makes it, on the basis of form at least, simply a matter of time before they catch both of these Serie  A regulars.