Of all the main domestic European leagues at the moment, one of the more fascinating title battles is in Serie A. Several teams are jostling for position and the diversity of challengers makes it all the more intriguing.
Current champions Inter Milan stormed to the title last season after a win against rivals, AC Milan, capturing the league title by a 19 points-margin and losing only two matches. This was Manchester City style dominance which hasn’t quite been repeated this year by Simone Inzaghi’s men so far.
Inter Milan Favourites
Inter are the current favourites at most of the trusted online bookmakers and are fancied by many to claim what would be their 21st Scudetto and are also thriving in the race to finish in the top eight spots in the Champions League. “We are an experienced, strong team. We have many commitments, but we have to stay on track amid a congested schedule. It will be a long season, a novelty to everyone,” said Inzaghi.
Marcus Thuram will be central to that charge. The Frenchman has linked up very well with Lauro Martinez. Despite the September derby loss to AC Milan, the Nerazzurri have started to rediscover their defensive solidarity which they showed to English audiences in their 1-0 win over Arsenal in the UCL. The clean sheets are beginning to rack up now after an unstable beginning and the road to retaining their crown has truly begun.
Napoli Revived Under Conte
The challengers are coming from all angles though. Napoli’s 2022/23 title win was a fantastic achievement but the sequel could not have gone any worse as they finished more than 40 points behind Inter.
The now departed Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were burdened with trying to produce the output again. There was a lack of freshness. To add to the confusion, coaches were hired and fired. New boss Antonio Conte is well-known for his “eat the grass” demanding style and the squad appears to have bought into it for now.
Napoli have become hard to beat again, surviving tough away trips to Milan, Inter and Juventus. Scott McTominay’s energy and ability to pick up wins for Manchester United with his never-say-die attitude has happily transferred to Naples. “The Azzurri seek victory without compromise, without following a single path, without being slaves to beauty. It is a change of mentality,” wrote Sport del Sud.
Juventus Don’t Lose Many But Draw Too Much
Talking of Juve, Conte’s former team are also in the mix. Like Inter, Juve have a great heritage of winning Serie A and they ripped up the record books by winning nine consecutive titles from 2011 to 2020. Last season they broke back into the top three for the first time in four years and Thiago Motta’s rebuild looks promising.
Unfortunately, although difficult to beat with one of the meanest defences, Juve’s odds are hindered by the lack of goals. They have a tendency to draw as reflected in multiple one-pointers throughout the first third of the campaign.
Atalanta Are The Real Deal
They don’t know what it feels like to win the league, but Atalanta are capable of taking the fight to domestic and European rivals. Gian Piero Gasperini’s team look supercharged after their historic Europa League success. They battered Liverpool in the last eight and tore apart the previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the final.
Atalanta have never won the Scudetto in their history, but Mateo Retegui and Andreas Lookman have been in the top four of the goalscoring charts. They have always been good to watch but now their physicality on top of the beauty means they can win games in an ugly manner.
The recent win in Rome was achieved despite Charles De Ketelaere, Lookman and Retegui being out of sorts. The hustle and bustle and energy of Ederson drives the team to new heights as they continue to develop new faces to play alongside the established structure.
Atalanta already showed how capable they are when they demolished fellow contenders Napoli 3-0, just as they did to Liverpool and Xabi Alonso’s record-breaking Leverkusen.
They are the real deal and ex- Italy coach Cesare Prandell, a former La Dea player, said that the European run gave the team an enormous amount of belief. Whether they can keep it up while still trying to shoot down the very best in the Champions League remains to be seen.
Fiorentina and Lazio are the other teams that have promised much, but they may fade as the season begins to pan out. Given how bunched up the teams are, the Serie A title in 2024/25 looks to have a far more intriguing storyline to it. It is a battle between the traditional powerhouses and the new pretenders.
