The new Serie A season is now settling in and there have already been some interesting results that suggest that it is going to be another fascinating campaign in Italy. Napoli won the Scudetto last season for the first time in 33 years and will be going for back-to-back titles for the first time in history.
There had been a feeling that the Italian top flight had been falling behind the likes of the EPL and Spain’s La Liga in recent years. More money was going the way of other leagues and the top players were no longer even linked with a move to Juventus, Milan, or Inter. But there now seems to be something of a Serie A renaissance – and fans of the Italian game are rejoicing.
All of the best sportsbooks online will have their own views of how the 2023-24 season will go. But now we that have reached the end of the summer transfer window and have seen how the teams have started, here is how we think the Serie A season might go – and who could claim the title in May of next year.
Napoli the One to Beat
It was something of a surprise, but Napoli simply blew away the competition last year. The Partenopei had flattered to deceive in previous years, briefly challenging Juventus at the top before falling away again. But, under Luciano Spalletti, everything went right last season.
Now Napoli would seem to be the one to beat again. Spalletti has left to become the new head coach of the Italian national side but surprisingly few of the top players have also departed. Kim Min-jae leaves a hole at the back after joining Bayern Munich, but the big news was the club being able to hang on to Victor Osimhen. If he can score the goals this year, as he did last year, the Scudetto could be staying in Naples.
Big Club Challengers
Juventus fans will still be complaining about perceived agendas that have kept their club from being able to compete at all in Europe this season. But that ban could actually help Max Allegri and his players. Being able to concentrate on the league when it looked like the club would struggle on and off the field might just be a positive for the Old Lady.
Milan rolled back the years to win the league title the year before Napoli’s triumph and the Rossoneri are now one of the favorites to challenge for the Scudetto this season. Stefano Pioli was able to keep Raphael Leão and has boosted his squad with a number of very interesting players. Christian Pulisic looks to have settled in very quickly and Milan will definitely be somewhere near the top of the league throughout this campaign.
Inter is the other traditional challenger in Serie A and Simone Inzaghi looks as though he will oversee another race for the title this year. Inter finished 18 points off the leaders last time out but also managed to make it all the way to the Champions League final. That suggested that Italian football is on its way back and Inter will be at the forefront of that in European competition, as well as pushing Napoli all the way domestically.
Surprise Teams
Surprise might be a little strong a term for some of the clubs here. But there is no doubt that if any of them actually managed to win the Serie A title this season it would be classified as an upset, at the very least. The first club we have included in this category is Roma.
Jose Mourinho has done wonders at the club in the last few years, reaching two European finals and bringing a renewed sense of confidence to the giallorossi side of the capital. Roma would have been hoping to finish in the top four this season but the arrival of Romelu Lukaku at the end of the transfer window could be the reason why the club can be talked about as a possible champion.
It is not just Roma fans in the capital that will have been feeling confident over the summer. Lazio finished second in the league last season without anyone really taking notice of the achievement. With so much attention on Napoli’s title win, the Biancocelesti beat both Milan clubs to the runners-up spot and could do well again this year.
Serie A Parity
Although it would be a huge shock if the eventual Serie A champion were a club that we have not mentioned yet, one of the reasons why the league is such a good watch is that there is a sense of parity that is not found in some of the other big leagues.
Paris Saint-Germain has dominated France’s Ligue 1 for years, as has Bayern Munich in Germany. The race for the title in Spain is always ultimately between Real Madrid and Barcelona and Manchester City has won five of the last six EPL titles. Milan – and then Napoli – winning the Scudetto is something of an outlier when it comes to the big European leagues.
Fiorentina, Atalanta, and even Bologna and Torino, will all feel as though they have a chance of sneaking into the European qualifying positions this season. Monza showed everyone last season that you can take on the biggest clubs in the country, even if you are playing in the top tier for the first time in your history.
And the Winner Is…
So, it is probably time for an actual prediction. There are plenty of reasons why Napoli could go and win another Scudetto. The players and fans are confident and the star players are largely still in place to compete. But we are going to go with another champion this season.
Milan was a Champions League fixture for years but then struggled on and off the field in the last ten years or so. The league title triumph two years ago was the start of something new and the club has invested well this summer to challenge Napoli. The early games have shown that the team is one to be feared and we think that it will be Milan celebrating another league title at the end of the campaign.
