Who are the favourites to win Serie A?
The new Serie A season is almost upon us and it promises to be another great season. Can Internazionale hold on to the scudetto after the sale of Romelu Lukaku? Will Juventus show us there is life in the old lady yet? Or can the unfancied Atalanta and Napoli show that there is football in Italy away from the big clubs? We’ve put together some analysis, match predictions and betting tips to help you choose who you think will bring the title home.
Who are the Favourites to win Serie A?
Inter’s title win last year ended Juventus’ streak of nine Serie A titles which dated back to the 2011-12 season and showed that Serie A wasn’t just a one team league. Milan and Atalanta also managed to finish above Juventus, while Napoli were only a point behind. Although Inter romped to the title by 12 points the loss of Lukaku will hamper them and it might be the most open season yet in Italy. Here’s a look at the favourites.
Juventus 1.95
Despite only finishing fourth last season Juventus are very much the bookies’ favourites to win the Serie A title. They’ve not really made many moves in the transfer market, only acting to renew Alvaro Morata’s loan from Atletico Madrid and letting veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon leave at the end of his deal. The biggest move made by the Old Lady was to sack Andrea Pirlo and bring back Massimillano Allegri two years after he left them.
The big question for Juventus will be just how much longer Cristiano Ronaldo can keep delivering the goods. The 36-year-old Portuguese scored 29 goals in 36 games for Juventus and shows no sign of slowing down but his age is surely going to become a factor sooner or later. However, we saw in the European Championship how solid Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are at the back and just how good Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernadeschi can be up front.
Juventus will almost certainly be there or thereabouts but 1.95 should be more of a certainty than it seems.
Inter 5.00
Last year’s winners are this year’s second favourites with the bookies to win the title. The departure of Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea for €115M will have been painful but was probably needed with rumours surrounding owners Suning and their finances. He’s not the only player to depart; Achraf Hakimi went to PSG for €60M and veteran wingback Ashley Young returned to England and Aston Villa at the expiry of his contract.
However, Inter have done what they can to bring in players to fill the gaps. Edin Dzeko has come in on a free transfer from Roma, right-back Denzel Dumfries signed for €12.5M after a successful European Championship with Netherlands and experienced midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu has come in on a free from Milan. A lot now depends on Inter being able to hang on to Lautaro Martinez despite interest in the young Argentine from Spurs and how quickly Christian Eriksen recovers from his heart scare.
At 5.00 Inter probably aren’t good value either. With the loss of Lukaku they look a lot less dangerous up front on paper and their squad is getting old.
Atalanta 6.00
Atalanta finished third in Serie A for the third year in succession last time out and will be pushing to go better this year. Gian Piero Gasperini has been in charge at the Bergamo Stadium now for five years and the continuity has done wonders for a somewhat unfancied team.
Colombian forwards Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata scored 37 league goals between them last season in a team that outscored every other side in the league last year with 90. German left-back Robin Gosens who was impressive for his country at the Euros scored 11 last season and Ruslan Malinovskyi scored eight from midfield. If La Dea can continue that kind of goal production this year it might be their turn to shine.
Atalanta are a good dark horse side to back; while they are a little bit short value, they should easily finish in the top three and win an each way bet.
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