🤯Big clubs struggle, Alvini-Sottil revive, promoted sides shine🔥

Serie B has always been an unpredictable league, but at the start of this season, it is far surpassing recent years in terms of the number of twists and turns happening from one matchday to the next.

Watch all of Serie BKT live with LaB Channel on OneFootball. Click here to purchase LaB Channel on promotion until midnight for only €69.99 per year and watch on all devices. From tomorrow, however, the cost will be €79.99.

Between relegated teams and struggling giants, newly promoted sides once again proving to be revelations, and unexpected teams at the top, nothing in the first 6 matchdays has gone according to preseason predictions.

Alvini and Sottil, the odd couple

After terrible seasons, Massimiliano Alvini and Andrea Sottil are rewriting their stories and allowing Frosinone and Modena to dream following a year that was anything but exciting.

With the 3-1 win over Cesena at the Stirpe, the coach of the Ciociari is temporarily at the top with 14 points in 6 matches. Coming off sackings at Cremonese and Spezia and relegation at Cosenza, the coach seemed to be on a downward trajectory. The visionary choice by the Lazio club, which put its trust in him and gave him a project with many young players to allow them to grow in peace, is paying off.

Tonight, however, Modena could overtake them as they play away at Carrarese. With another 3 points, Sottil would stretch to 16, already putting himself +4 ahead of third-placed Palermo. It was known that the transfer campaign was solid, but such an impact was unimaginable. The choices in attack have been sensational, with Ettore Gliozzi making a huge comeback and already top scorer with 4 goals to his name.

The constant of newly promoted teams

Avellino stands out above all with 11 points and 5 consecutive positive results, but all the teams that came up from Serie C are performing beyond expectations, regardless of the results achieved. Padova, with many absentees and a squad not at the top level, has already racked up 8 points, while Entella with 6 and Pescara with 4 are showing a style of play and solidity that bode well for the future.

In recent years, we have always seen at least one club capable of making a significant run after promotion. Avellino is certainly the team with the best chance of making the playoffs, but it will be crucial to recover striker Gennaro Tutino to turn that dream into reality. However, coach Raffaele Biancolino has laid the foundation.

Big clubs in nightmare

Sampdoria is a joke, for sure, but also the disasters of Bari and Spezia. Expectations for the Blucerchiati were minimal, but reality is surpassing imagination. The Ligurians have collected just one point in 5 matches, the result of a paradoxical squad. The defense, disastrous last year and ultimately leading to relegation, was kept intact, while new players like Barak or Pafundi, who are still unproven, arrived for the attacking midfield. The choice of Massimo Donati on the bench is further amplifying doubts. The coach hasn't won a game in over a year.

For Spezia and Bari, the situation is different. From the former, direct competition for Serie A was expected, from the latter, a comeback season with the playoffs well within reach. Luca D'Angelo's team seems not to have fully digested the lost playoff final: those who stayed have lost their edge and the new arrivals have yet to make an impact.

Fabio Caserta’s team, on the other hand, was revolutionized over the summer and there are very few survivors from last season. Here, the assembly problems have been many and the feeling is that they are far from finding the right formula, both in terms of personnel and playing system. Both clubs have collected just 3 points and are tied for second-to-last place in the standings alongside Mantova.

Youth in the spotlight

After the hugely successful experience of Pio Esposito, last year’s standout at Spezia and now increasingly part of Inter’s squad at just 20 years old, Serie B confirms itself as a league where clubs have more courage in launching young players and investing in their football development.

Two seventeen-year-olds have already debuted: Christian Comotto, owned by Milan, with Spezia, and Dhirar Brik of Südtirol. Among the eighteen-year-olds, the revelation is Bohdan Popov of Empoli, currently the top scorer in Serie B with 4 goals. The Ukrainian is very promising and is in the right environment to grow.

The other eighteen-year-old, Alphadjo Cisse, owned by Verona, has already scored twice. The Catanzaro player netted a magical free kick against Reggiana, and in the same match, a nineteen-year-old for Reggiana, Mathis Lambourde, also owned by Verona, found the net. Sean Sogliano will have plenty to be happy about.

Among the Under-20s who have scored, Filippo Grosso, son of Fabio, and Jonas Harder of Padova, who arrived on loan from the ever-reliable Fiorentina, must also be mentioned. Spezia is also launching Diego Mascardi, who debuted as a starter and for the Under-21 National Team. Also not to be underestimated are winger Alessio Cacciamani, from Torino and on loan at Juve Stabia, and Mattia Liberali, whom Catanzaro picked up from Milan on a free transfer.

Uncertainty reigns

If there’s one rule that Serie B teaches, it’s that the validity of any prediction can be wiped out in no time. In a league full of constant surprises, everything can change in an instant. It’s impossible to predict the outcome of the season, but it’s easy to enjoy the spectacle of one of the most unpredictable and exciting leagues in all of Europe.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 Simone Arveda - 2025 Getty Images