In brief
Serie A has twenty clubs who together complete 38 matchdays in a single regular league, with no play-offs for the title itself. At the bottom, promotion and relegation with Serie B are decided; at the top, the European tickets.
The basic structure: 20 clubs, 38 matchdays
Twenty clubs play each other twice, once at home and once away, for 38 matchdays in total. After the full calendar, the final standings determine who becomes champion, who qualifies for Europe, and who is relegated. There are no play-offs to decide the title itself; only in case of a tie on points in first place does the league turn to one extra decisive match, and in case of a tie at the boundary between 17th and 18th place to a two-legged play-off, unless one of the clubs involved plays a European final in that same period, in which case the play-off is dropped entirely and the normal tiebreak criteria apply. The full explanation of points and tiebreakers is on our page about the Serie A standings.
Promotion from Serie B
The top two in Serie B are promoted automatically. The third ticket is decided via play-offs between the clubs in places 3 to 8, unless the points gap between 3rd and 4th place is bigger than 14 points, in which case 3rd place is promoted directly, without play-offs.
The play-offs themselves run in stages: a preliminary round between 5th and 8th place, and between 6th and 7th place (each a single match), followed by two-legged semi-finals (3rd and 4th place get a bye into this round, with home advantage in the second leg), and a two-legged final. For the 2026-2027 season, Venezia and Frosinone were promoted directly, while Monza won a ticket via the play-offs.
Want to know more about the new clubs this season? Check our Serie A clubs guide. 21+ only.
Relegation to Serie B
The bottom three clubs in the standings drop to Serie B. If the team in 17th place (last safe spot) and 18th place (first relegation spot) finish level on points, a two-legged play-off follows to decide who stays in Serie A, with the second leg played at the club with the better head-to-head record in the regular season; if the score is still level after two matches, it goes straight to penalties, with no extra time. This two-legged format has applied since the Lega Serie A rule change of 7 July 2023; the very first time it was used, in June 2023, this play-off was still played as a single match on neutral ground (Hellas Verona won 3-1 against Spezia that time), a format that has since been abandoned. Since 26 May 2026, this play-off is also dropped entirely if one of the two clubs involved plays a European final in that same period; in that case the normal tiebreak criteria apply immediately. For the 2026-2027 season, Cremonese, Hellas Verona and Pisa were relegated after the previous season.
European qualification
At the top of the table, clubs compete for a European ticket. For the 2026-2027 season, the top four places earn a ticket for the Champions League; the places after that usually give access to the Europa League and the Conference League. Exactly how many places that is depends on the UEFA access list and the coefficient ranking for that season, and can shift slightly from year to year.
The Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) also runs alongside the league and has its own qualification rules for Europe. Want to form your own view on how the title race, the European race or the relegation battle develops this season? Check the current Serie A standings.