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Officially set to kick off on August 17, Parma, Como, and Venezia are back in Serie A, returning after a three-year absence, a 21-year absence, and a two-year absence, respectively.
While they take the places of Frosinone, Sassuolo, and Salernitana, a managerial change has occurred at almost every club in the competition, including Juventus and AC Milan.
Inter Milan are defending champions.
An unchallenged title run left Milan in Inter’s wake as they claimed their 20th Serie A title and a second ‘star’. To make matters worse, Inter were crowned Serie A champions right at San Siro after a 2-1 win over the Rossoneri.
It was the final blow to Pioli’s reign, with Milan obviously unable to hold a candle to their city rivals.
Elsewhere, Juve also made a managerial change after Allegri went into a shocking touchline meltdown where he ripped his shirt in an angry ‘striptease’.
An episode that will forever be a highlight, or, should we say, a lowlight, in his managerial career.
Europa League champions Atalanta are looking to challenge, while Bologna, who were the surprise package of last season, will be keen to show similar form when they rub shoulders with the big boys on European soil.
While the race for the title is expected to be exciting, the battle for Serie A survival at the bottom end of the table will also leave fans at the edge of their seats.
Will Inter retain the league title? Or will AC Milan put up a convincing fight?
With Juve gearing up for a heated battle, could we see a three-horse race in Serie A? Or will Bologna put up another fairy tale run when they kick start their campaign despite the additional burden of European competition?
Keep reading as we try to answer some of the most prominent questions in our Serie A season preview.
WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES TO WIN SERIE A?
There’s no secret that defending champions Inter Milan will be looking to retain the title when they begin their title-defence against Genoa on Match Day 1.
Apart from Atalanta, Inter Milan are the only side that failed to make a managerial change in the top five last season.
With the added advantage of continuity over archrivals, Inter have made quality additions to their ranks. They secured the services of Mehdi Taremi from FC Porto on a free transfer.
Thirty-year-old Piotr Zieliński also joins from Napoli on a free transfer, while Davide Frattesi’s loan from Sassuolo was made permanent in a €29 million deal.
With the addition of new goalkeeper Josep Martínez from Genoa, they will be eager to challenge once again.
Meanwhile, city rivals and last season’s runner-up, Milan, are plotting to snatch the title.
Fans were eventually rewarded after calling for a change of manager. Having seen the back of Stefano Pioli, former Roma and Lille coach Fonseca slips into the managerial role, hoping to usher in a new wave of domestic and European success at Milan while playing attractive football.
The Rossoneri secured the signing of Strahinja Pavlović from RB Leipzig, while Álvaro Morata joined the club after leading Spain to European glory for a record fourth time in the just concluded Euro 2024.
Paulo Fonseca’s side showed promising signs ahead of the new season after a 3-2 pre-season win over Manchester City at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
The 51-year-old will make his Serie A debut with Milan on Match Day 1 when the Rossoneri take on Torino.
Juve, on the other hand, are looking to become title contenders after a disappointing campaign last season.
A Coppa Italia title win over Atalanta failed to save Allegri, who had gone into a meltdown in the form of an angry strip tease during the final.
Thiago Motta comes in after a fairytale run with Bologna, having led the side to Champions League qualification.
The 41-year-old Brazilian-Italian will be looking to cement the belief that he can lead Juve to success after a similar experiment with Pirlo failed.
All three clubs, Milan, Juve, and Inter will certainly be in the title race when the season kicks off this August.
Who will be in the top five?
Just as we saw last season, the battle for the top end of the table will be thrilling once again. Atalanta, Roma, SS Lazio, and Napoli will all be in a neck-to-neck race to finish at the upper end of the table.
After a 4th-place finish for La Dea last term, Europa League winners Atalanta will be keen to contest for the top five places when they begin their campaign against Lecce.
Continuity has been a key factor in helping Atalanta achieve success. With year-on-year improvements, the Goddess could be a contender for third place.
Even with Lukaku’s addition last season, Roma could only finish in 6th place despite promising performances following the arrival of Daniele De Rossi.
However, it is expected that Roma will be in the thick of the action when the battle for the top five begins.
Lazio has been a serial contender for the top five and expected to have a go again. However, with new manager Marco Baroni in charge, continuity could become a problem for the Sky Blue-wearing side.
Napoli, whose fall from grace wasn’t only shocking but saw two managerial changes go by last term with Rudi Garcia and Walter Mazzarri shown the door after sub-par performances.
Now, new boss Antonio Conte will be keen to bring some stability to the club when the new season begins.
However, despite being known for instant impact, Napoli’s transition back to a winning side could require considerable time, with key figures such as Osimhen expected to depart the club.
Who will qualify for European places?
Europa Conference League finalists Fiorentina, Torino, and Monza will be the few clubs going head-to-head with the likes of Napoli, Roma, and Lazio for European places. However, with managerial changes in the previous three, hitting the ground running could be a real challenge.
Former Monza coach Raffaele Palladino slips into the managerial seat at Fiorentina, while Paolo Vanoli replaces Ivan Juric at Torino. Milan legend Alessandro Nesta became coach of Monza after a spell with Serie B side AC Reggiana.
We will have to wait and see what happens when the season begins.
Who will be the surprise package?
Just like Aston Villa in the Premier League and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, Bologna was last season’s surprise package in Serie A.
Fans had written them off for a mid-table scrap, but the Rossoblù surprised many with a fifth-place finish under the tutelage of Thiago Motta.
Could Bologna impress again? Or will they crumble now that they have become burdened with additional European commitments?
Will our season’s surprise package come from one of the newly promoted sides, Como, Parma, or Venezia? We will have to wait and see yet again.
Who will win the Golden Boot?
Inter’s Lautaro Martínez, who finished as the second highest goal scorer in the 2022–23 season, behind Victor Osimhen (26 goals), was the top scorer last season after 24 goals.
Juve’s Dušan Vlahović came in second with 16 goals, while Olivier Giroud and Victor Osimhen were joint third with 15 goals each.
Should Inter enjoy similar form as they did last season, there will be no question that Lautaro Martínez will finish as the top scorer once again.
Milan’s Morata also comes onto the list of contenders; however, having finished with only 15 goals last season, he might not be up for the challenge. Meanwhile, don’t write off Inter’s new addition, Mehdi Taremi.
Although he scored only six goals in 23 appearances last season at FC Porto, provided he gets considerable playing time, Taremi could be a surprise rival to Lautaro Martínez’s hopes of keeping the Capocannoniere.
A quick Did you know!
While the title of top scorer is currently held by Martinez, did you know Milan’s Gunnar Nordahl has the highest number of top scorers’ titles in Serie A after winning it a record five times (1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, and 1954–55)?
Nordahl is also Milan’s all-time top scorer, with 210 league goals in 257 appearances [1949–56]. Having also played for Roma, he ranks third as the highest goal scorer in the history of Serie A after 225 goals in 291 appearances.
And what’s more? He comes behind second-placed Francesco Totti, who scored 250 goals in 619 appearances for Roma.
Who will end up with the most clean sheets?
Yann Sommer had the highest number of clean sheets last season, after 19 shutouts for Inter. Torino’s Vanja Milinković-Savić came in second with 18, while Wojciech Szczęsny made 15 clean sheets for Juve in third.
While all three played 34, 36, and 35 games, respectively, Wojciech Szczęsny was the only one who kept his place from the previous season (2022/23) where he kept the same number of clean sheets in 28 appearances.
With Szczęsny’s departure following a termination of contract, could Inter’s Yann Sommer pick up the most clean sheets?
Once again, we can only wait and see.
Szczęsny made 252 appearances across all competitions in Juve’s colours and became one of only seven foreign players to reach and surpass 200 Serie A appearances for the Old Lady.
What’s your verdict?
Do you agree that Serie A would be a three-horse race? Or could last season’s scenario play out? Will Milan reclaim the title after two years, or will Juve be formidable under the tutelage of Thiago Motta?
While our prediction API, which comes as a feature of our robust football API, is much better at predicting outcomes, we will leave you to ponder some of these questions.
What’s your verdict?
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