Serie B (Italy)

Serie B (Italy) (Serie B, founded in 1929) - the second tier of professional club football in Italy. Regulations: the league is typically played by 20 clubs in a double round-robin, each team plays 38 matches home and away, with 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. If teams are level on points, positions are decided via a head-to-head mini-table among the tied teams using these tie-breakers in order: head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, overall goal difference, overall goals scored, then drawing of lots. At the end of the season the teams in 1st and 2nd are promoted automatically to Serie A, and the third promotion place is decided by play-offs involving the teams finishing 3rd to 8th, while if the gap between 3rd and 4th exceeds 14 points the 3rd-placed team is promoted directly. In the play-offs the preliminary round is a single match hosted by the higher-ranked team, if level after 90 minutes extra time is played and if still level the higher-ranked team advances, the semi-finals and final are usually played over two legs, ties are decided by points across the two matches and then goal difference, and if still level the higher-ranked team advances, with extra time and penalties in the final used only in the specific case where the two finalists finished the regular season level on points. At the bottom three clubs are relegated to Serie C, the fourth-bottom club is relegated directly if the gap to the team immediately above exceeds 4 points, otherwise a two-legged play-out is played between those teams, decided by points and then goal difference, and if still level the higher-placed team stays up, with extra time and penalties in the second leg used only if the two teams finished the regular season level on points.