# 2017–18 Serie B

The 2017–18 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 86th season since its establishment in 1929.
A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 returning from the 2016–17 Serie B season, 4 promoted from 2016–17 Lega Pro (Cremonese, Venezia, Foggia, Parma), and 3 relegated from 2016–17 Serie A (Empoli, Palermo, Pescara).

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | 2016–17 season |
| Ascoli | Ascoli Piceno | Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca | 10,887 | 15th in Serie B |
| Avellino | Avellino | Stadio Partenio | 10,215 | 17th in Serie B |
| Bari | Bari | Stadio San Nicola | 58,270 | 12th in Serie B |
| Brescia | Brescia | Stadio Mario Rigamonti | 16,743 | 14th in Serie B |
| Carpi | Carpi | Stadio Sandro Cabassi | 5,510 | 7th in Serie B |
| Cesena | Cesena | Stadio Dino Manuzzi | 23,860 | 13th in Serie B |
| Cittadella | Cittadella | Stadio Pier Cesare Tombolato | 7,623 | 6th in Serie B |
| Cremonese | Cremona | Stadio Giovanni Zini | 20,641 | Lega Pro/A Champions |
| Empoli | Empoli | Stadio Carlo Castellani | 16,800 | 18th in Serie A |
| Foggia | Foggia | Stadio Pino Zaccheria | 16,798 | Lega Pro/C Champions |
| Frosinone | Frosinone | Stadio Benito Stirpe | 16,125 | 3rd in Serie B |
| Novara | Novara | Stadio Silvio Piola | 17,875 | 9th in Serie B |
| Palermo | Palermo | Stadio Renzo Barbera | 36,349 | 19th in Serie A |
| Parma | Parma | Stadio Ennio Tardini | 27,906 | 2nd in Lega Pro/B |
| Perugia | Perugia | Stadio Renato Curi | 23,125 | 4th in Serie B |
| Pescara | Pescara | Stadio Adriatico | 20,515 | 20th in Serie A |
| Pro Vercelli | Vercelli | Stadio Silvio Piola | 5,500 | 16th in Serie B |
| Salernitana | Salerno | Stadio Arechi | 31,300 | 11th in Serie B |
| Spezia | La Spezia | Stadio Alberto Picco | 10,290 | 8th in Serie B |
| Ternana | Terni | Stadio Libero Liberati | 17,460 | 18th in Serie B |
| Venezia | Venice | Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo | 7,450 | Lega Pro/B Champions |
| Virtus Entella | Chiavari | Stadio Comunale | 5,535 | 10th in Serie B |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | President | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (front) | Shirt sponsor (back) | Shorts sponsor |
| Ascoli | Francesco Bellini | Serse Cosmi | Nike | CIAM/Fainplast | Brosway | None |
| Avellino | Walter Taccone | Claudio Foscarini | Givova | Sidigas | None | None |
| Bari | Cosmo Antonio Giancaspro | Fabio Grosso | Zeus | Peroni 3.5, Piné Cembra | Password/Primiceri SpA | None |
| Brescia | Alessandro Triboldi | Ivo Pulga | Acerbis | UBI Banca | OMR | None |
| Carpi | Claudio Caliumi | Antonio Calabro | Givova | Gaudì Jeans | Braglia Costruzioni | None |
| Cesena | Giorgio Lugaresi | Fabrizio Castori | Lotto | PLT Puregreen | None | None |
| Cittadella | Andrea Gabrielli | Roberto Venturato | Boxeur Des Rues | OCSA, Gruppo Gabrielli | Metalservice | Veneta Nastri |
| Cremonese | Luigi Simoni | Andrea Mandorlini | Garman | Ilta Inox (H)/Arinox (A), Università di Pavia | None | None |
| Empoli | Fabrizio Corsi | Aurelio Andreazzoli | Joma | Gensan, Sammontana (H)/Logli Massimo (A) | Giletti | PSB Advisory |
| Foggia | Lucio Fares | Giovanni Stroppa | Nike | Pasta Tamma, Wüber | Metaurobus | Valvoline |
| Frosinone | Maurizio Stirpe | Moreno Longo | Legea | Banca Popolare del Frusinate, MBI Gas & Luce | 7Sette Carburanti | Acqua Filette |
| Novara | Carlo Accornero | Domenico Di Carlo | Joma | Banca Popolare di Novara, Gruppo Comoli Ferrari | Gorgonzola Igor | Intesa pour Homme |
| Palermo | Maurizio Zamparini | Roberto Stellone | Legea | Sicily by Car | Bisaten | None |
| Parma | Jiang Lizhang | Roberto D'Aversa | Erreà | Cetilar, Aon | Viva la Mamma Beretta | Colser |
| Perugia | Massimiliano Santopadre | Roberto Breda | Frankie Garage | Officine Piccini, Fortinfissi | Tedesco Group | Mericat |
| Pescara | Daniele Sebastiani | Giuseppe Pillon | Erreà | Saquella Caffè, Lilofilchem | Sarni Ristorazione (H)/Sarnioro (A) | Vincenzo Serraiocco Consulting |
| Pro Vercelli | Massimo Secondo | Gianluca Grassadonia | Erreà | PGO Group (H)/MediatechShop (A) | None | None |
| Salernitana | Marco Mezzaroma & Claudio Lotito | Stefano Colantuono | Givova | Sèleco Home | Sèleco Easy Life | None |
| Spezia | Andrea Corradino | Fabio Gallo | Acerbis | Arquati, Carispezia | None | Gelateria Vernazza |
| Ternana | Stefano Bandecchi | Luigi De Canio | Zeus | Unicusano | None | None |
| Venezia | Joe Tacopina | Filippo Inzaghi | Nike | Lino Sonego | None | Estra |
| Virtus Entella | Antonio Gozzi | Alfredo Aglietti | Acerbis | Duferco Energia | Pensa Benessere | None |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Ascoli | Alfredo Aglietti | End of contract | 1 June 2017 | Pre-season | Fulvio Fiorin & Enzo Maresca | 1 June 2017 |
| Bari | Stefano Colantuono | End of contract | 13 June 2017 | Pre-season | Fabio Grosso | 13 June 2017 |
| Brescia | Luigi Cagni | End of contract | 3 June 2017 | Pre-season | Roberto Boscaglia | 3 June 2017 |
| Carpi | Fabrizio Castori | Mutual consent | 12 June 2017 | Pre-season | Antonio Calabro | 14 July 2017 |
| Frosinone | Pasquale Marino | Mutual consent | 14 June 2017 | Pre-season | Moreno Longo | 14 June 2017 |
| Novara | Roberto Boscaglia | Signed by Brescia | 3 June 2017 | Pre-season | Eugenio Corini | 14 June 2017 |
| Pro Vercelli | Moreno Longo | Signed by Frosinone | 14 June 2017 | Pre-season | Gianluca Grassadonia | 14 June 2017 |
| Spezia | Domenico Di Carlo | End of contract | 14 June 2017 | Pre-season | Fabio Gallo | 14 June 2017 |
| Perugia | Cristian Bucchi | Signed by Sassuolo | 20 June 2017 | Pre-season | Federico Giunti | 23 June 2017 |
| Empoli | Giovanni Martusciello | Mutual consent | 20 June 2017 | Pre-season | Vincenzo Vivarini | 21 June 2017 |
| Palermo | Diego Bortoluzzi | End of contract | 21 June 2017 | Pre-season | Bruno Tedino | 22 June 2017 |
| Ternana | Fabio Liverani | End of contract | 30 June 2017 | Pre-season | Sandro Pochesci | 9 July 2017 |
| Cesena | Andrea Camplone | Sacked | 30 September 2017 | 22nd | Fabrizio Castori | 1 October 2017 |
| Brescia | Roberto Boscaglia | Sacked | 12 October 2017 | 15th | Pasquale Marino | 12 October 2017 |
| Perugia | Federico Giunti | Sacked | 24 October 2017 | 15th | Roberto Breda | 26 October 2017 |
| V. Entella | Gianpaolo Castorina | Sacked | 5 November 2017 | 19th | Alfredo Aglietti | 6 November 2017 |
| Ascoli | Fulvio Fiorin | Sacked | 7 December 2017 | 22nd | Serse Cosmi | 7 December 2017 |
| Salernitana | Alberto Bollini | Sacked | 11 December 2017 | 11th | Stefano Colantuono | 12 December 2017 |
| Empoli | Vincenzo Vivarini | Sacked | 16 December 2017 | 5th | Aurelio Andreazzoli | 17 December 2017 |
| Pro Vercelli | Gianluca Grassadonia | Sacked | 16 December 2017 | 20th | Gianluca Atzori | 17 December 2017 |
| Brescia | Pasquale Marino | Sacked | 15 January 2018 | 17th | Roberto Boscaglia | 15 January 2018 |
| Pro Vercelli | Gianluca Atzori | Sacked | 22 January 2018 | 22nd | Gianluca Grassadonia | 22 January 2018 |
| Ternana | Sandro Pochesci | Sacked | 29 January 2018 | 20th | Ferruccio Mariani | 30 January 2018 |
| Novara | Eugenio Corini | Sacked | 4 February 2018 | 16th | Domenico Di Carlo | 5 February 2018 |
| Ternana | Ferruccio Mariani | Sacked | 21 February 2018 | 22nd | Luigi De Canio | 21 February 2018 |
| Pescara | Zdeněk Zeman | Sacked | 6 March 2018 | 13th | Massimo Epifani | 6 March 2018 |
| Pescara | Massimo Epifani | Sacked | 1 April 2018 | 16th | Giuseppe Pillon | 1 April 2018 |
| Avellino | Walter Novellino | Sacked | 3 April 2018 | 18th | Claudio Foscarini | 3 April 2018 |
| Cremonese | Attilio Tesser | Sacked | 23 April 2018 | 14th | Andrea Mandorlini | 23 April 2018 |
| Palermo | Bruno Tedino | Sacked | 28 April 2018 | 3rd | Roberto Stellone | 28 April 2018 |
| Brescia | Roberto Boscaglia | Sacked | 29 April 2018 | 13th | Ivo Pulga | 29 April 2018 |
| Virtus Entella | Alfredo Aglietti | Sacked | 6 May 2018 | 20th | Gennaro Volpe | 6 May 2018 |
| Pro Vercelli | Gianluca Grassadonia | Sacked | 7 May 2018 | 22nd | Vito Grieco | 7 May 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Empoli (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 88 | 49 | +39 | 85 | Promotion to Serie A |
| 2 | Parma (P) | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 72 | Promotion to Serie A |
| 3 | Frosinone (O, P) | 42 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 72 | Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-finals |
| 4 | Palermo | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 59 | 39 | +20 | 71 | Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-finals |
| 5 | Venezia | 42 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 67 | Qualification to promotion play-offs preliminary round |
| 6 | Cittadella | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 66 | Qualification to promotion play-offs preliminary round |
| 7 | Bari (R, D, R) | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 65 | Revival in Serie D |
| 8 | Perugia | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 60 | Qualification to promotion play-offs preliminary round |
| 9 | Foggia | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 66 | 68 | −2 | 58 | |
| 10 | Spezia | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 53 | |
| 11 | Carpi | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 52 | |
| 12 | Salernitana | 42 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 51 | |
| 13 | Cesena (E, R) | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 55 | 61 | −6 | 50 | Revival in Serie D |
| 14 | Cremonese | 42 | 9 | 21 | 12 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 48 | |
| 15 | Avellino (R, E, R, R) | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 48 | Revival in Serie D |
| 16 | Brescia | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 48 | |
| 17 | Pescara | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 50 | 64 | −14 | 48 | |
| 18 | Ascoli (O) | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 46 | Qualification to relegation play-out |
| 19 | Virtus Entella (R) | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 44 | Qualification to relegation play-out |
| 20 | Novara (R) | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 44 | Relegation to Serie C |
| 21 | Pro Vercelli (R) | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 47 | 70 | −23 | 40 | Relegation to Serie C |
| 22 | Ternana (R) | 42 | 7 | 16 | 19 | 62 | 77 | −15 | 37 | Relegation to Serie C |
* 1 2 Parma is ahead of Frosinone on head-to-head goal difference: Parma 2–0 Frosinone, Frosinone 2–1 Parma.
* ↑ Bari was deducted two points for administrative irregularities. The team was reestablished in 2018 after the bankruptcy of the previous legal person
* 1 2 3 Bari, Cesena and Avellino were excluded from the league after the season for financial issues.
* ↑ A.C. Cesena bankrupted in mid-2018. A.S.D. Romagna Centro Cesena; another team from Cesena was renamed to Cesena F.C. which would participate in 2018–19 Serie D
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head points: Cremonese 10 pts, Avellino 8 pts, Brescia 7 pts, Pescara 6 pts.
* 1 2 Virtus Entella is ahead of Novara on head-to-head points: Virtus Entella 2–1 Novara, Novara 0–1 Virtus Entella.
On August 13, 2018, the FIGC decided to reduce the chronic financial instability of the league halting re-elections of clubs. Serie B was so reduced to 19 clubs.

## Promotion play-offs

Six teams could contest the promotion play-offs depending on the point differential between the third and fourth-placed teams. It began with a preliminary one-legged round played at the home venue of the higher placed team, involving the teams placed fifth to eight. The two winning (or higher placed team from regular season if a match ended with a draw) teams advanced to play the third and fourth-placed teams in the two-legged semi-finals. Those winning teams advanced to the two-legged final, where the winner was promoted to play in Serie A the following season. In the two-legged rounds, the higher seeded team played the second game at home.
| Preliminary round | Preliminary round | Preliminary round | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 5 | Venezia | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| 5 | Venezia | 3 | 4 | Palermo | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 8 | Perugia | 0 | | | | | | 4 | Palermo | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | 3 | Frosinone | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | 6 | Cittadella | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 6 | Cittadella | 2 | 3 | Frosinone | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 7 | Bari | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |

## Relegation play-out

Two teams contested the relegation play-out in a two-legged round. The higher placed team played the second leg at home. In the case of a tie on aggregate, the higher placed team from the regular season were declared the winners. The losers were relegated to Serie C for the following season.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Virtus Entella (19) | 0–0 | Ascoli (18) | 0–0 | 0–0 |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Francesco Caputo | Empoli | 26 |
| 2 | Alfredo Donnarumma | Empoli | 23 |
| 3 | Samuel Di Carmine | Perugia | 22 |
| 4 | Adriano Montalto | Ternana | 20 |
| 5 | Fabio Mazzeo | Foggia | 19 |
| 6 | Alberto Cerri | Perugia | 15 |
| 7 | Camillo Ciano | Frosinone | 14 |
| 7 | Cristian Galano | Bari | 14 |
| 9 | Emanuele Calaiò | Parma | 13 |
| 9 | Andrea Caracciolo | Brescia | 13 |
| 9 | Daniel Ciofani | Frosinone | 13 |
| 9 | Ilija Nestorovski | Palermo | 13 |
| 9 | Stefano Pettinari | Pescara | 13 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ASC | AVE | BAR | BRE | CRP | CES | CIT | CRE | EMP | FOG | FRO | NOV | PAL | PAR | PER | PES | PVE | SAL | SPE | TER | VEN | VET |
| Ascoli | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Avellino | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Bari | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Brescia | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Carpi | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Cesena | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Cittadella | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Cremonese | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 0–1 |
| Empoli | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Foggia | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–3 | | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Frosinone | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 |
| Novara | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Palermo | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Parma | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Perugia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 4–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Pescara | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Pro Vercelli | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Salernitana | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Spezia | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Ternana | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 4–2 | | 2–3 | 0–1 |
| Venezia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 2–0 |
| Virtus Entella | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | |