Atalanta - Sampdoria
Atalanta have had a good beginning to the campaign, and had been flying high in joint-second before last weekend’s trip to Roma.
However, they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, and have now dropped down to joint sixth.
Sampdoria started the season well as they held Inter to a 1-1 draw in week one, a game which they arguably should have won.
However, they have struggled since, and are still to earn a victory in Serie A. Three consecutive draws with Chievo, Siena and Juventus mean they are currently fourth-from-bottom. They did beat Kaunas 2-1 in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night though.
Cagliari - Milan
Cagliari are many people’s favourites for the drop and this tag has been upheld so far, as the Sardinians have lost all four of their games.
The Rossoblu remain rock-bottom with zero points to their name after they lost 2-0 at Lecce.
Milan had had a disastrous start to the Serie A season, losing to both Bologna and Genoa, but they have since recovered with three successive wins.
First the Rossoneri thrashed Lazio 4-1 before they won 2-1 at Reggina, and then beat rival Inter in the big derby clash last Sunday night, Ronaldinho grabbing the winner with his first goal for the club. They also defeated FC Zurich in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.span class="fullpost">
Chievo - Fiorentina
Chievo have had a fair start to the season, and will be relatively content with their return of five points from as many games.
The Flying Donkeys have not won since the opening day though, and they lost 1-0 at Catania last time out.
Fiorentina spent heavily in the summer, but they have made a staggering start, and have already lost twice in Serie A.
They got on the winning trail last weekend with a narrow 1-0 win over Genoa, but they are still down in 12th place. In midweek they drew disappointingly at home against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League.
Genoa - Napoli
Genoa have already had two huge scalps this campaign, defeating both Milan and Roma at home.
However, their away form has not been so smart, as they have all three of their matches, including at Fiorentina last weekend, where they went down 1-0.
Napoli have had an extremely tough start to the season, already playing the likes of Roma and Udinese away, and Fiorentina and Palermo at home.
However, they have remained unbeaten, one of only two teams in Serie A (the other being Juventus), picking up 11 points, and they are currently in second place. Last week they won 1-0 at Bologna, although they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in midweek by Benfica.
Inter - Bologna
Fourth placed Inter looked like they were really starting to click under Jose Mourinho, as going into the Milan derby last weekend they had won four games on the bounce.
However, they then lost 1-0 to their city rivals, Mourinho’s first defeat since taking over, while they also disappointed in the Champions League in midweek, drawing at home against Werder Bremen.
Bologna produced the shock of the opening weekend by winning 2-1 at Milan, but it has been all disappointment since.
The newly-promoted outfit have since lost four on the bounce to Atalanta, Fiorentina, Udinese, and Napoli, scoring no goals and conceding six.
Juventus - Palermo
Juventus are still unbeaten both at home and abroad, but despite this the pressure is really on Claudio Ranieri, with some reports suggesting he could be sacked if Juve don’t win this game.
The Bianconeri have drawn three on the trot in all competitions, are down to sixth in Serie A, and in midweek were humiliatingly held in the Champions League by Belarus minnows BATE Borisov.
Palermo have been rejuvenated since Stefano Colantuono was sacked as coach following the week one defeat at Udinese.
Replacement Davide Ballardini has since led the Sicilians to three wins out of four, including last week’s 1-0 victory over Reggina.
Lazio - Lecce
Lazio have been the revelation of the 2008/09 season so far, and are flying high at the top of the table with 12 points.
The Biancocelesti have already scored 13 times, and last weekend they won 3-1 at Torino, with the impressive Mauro Zarate (2) and Goran Pandev grabbing the goals.
Lecce have had a reasonably good start on their return to Serie A, and have picked up seven points from their first five games to put them in a mid-table position.
Last weekend they picked up a crucial 2-0 win over rock-bottom Cagliari with Guillermo Giacomazzi scoring an absolute screamer.
Reggina - Catania
Reggina are looking like real relegation candidates and are struggling in penultimate place with just one point to their name.
The Calabrians have lost their last three matches on the spin, including a 1-0 reverse at Palermo last time out.
Catania have had a superb start to the new season and are flying high in joint third place with 10 points from their first five games.
After picking up an outstanding 1-1 draw at Scudetto-chasers Juventus, last Sunday they then won 1-0 at home against Chievo.
Siena - Roma
Siena have had a mixed start to the new season, and have accumulated five points from their first five games.
The Tuscans had been unbeaten in three going into last weekend’s trip to Udinese, but this ended with a 2-1 loss.
Roma had had a miserable start to the season after failing to win any of their first four competitive games, and being humiliated in the Champions League against Cluj.
They have recovered somewhat recently though, winning three out of their last four, including successive victories over Atalanta, and Bordeaux in the Champions League. The Giallorossi are down in 10th in Serie A.
Udinese - Torino
Udinese have really started to pick up following a mixed start to the campaign, and they have won their last two in Serie A.
Victories over Bologna and Siena means they are now up to third in the table, just two points behind leaders Lazio. They also progressed in the UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund after a penalty shootout.
Torino were a huge disappointment last year, but they started this season well with a 3-0 win over Lecce in week one.
They have picked up just two points though in their last four games, and were comfortably beaten 3-1 at home by Lazio last Sunday.
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