The Serie A campaign is just five games old, but this could be one of the most intriguing seasons in recent years.
Holders Juventus, currently leading the way in the opening stages, are aiming to secure a sixth straight title, but will have to do it without Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata.
However, the Old Lady have bought well this summer – and have weakened their rivals in the process – with Miralem Pjanic arriving from Roma and Gonzalo Higuain captured from Napoli.
More importantly for the Turin giants, they managed to keep hold of their star centre-backs. Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini were pivotal as Italy made it to the Euro 2016 quarter finals, conceding just two goals at the finals and seven in qualifying.
The arrival of Dani Alves on a free transfer from Barcelona and Mehdi Benatia on loan from Bayern Munich, add strength and experience to an already stable backline, while diminutive Argentinian striker Pablo Dybala will be looking to build on his 23 goals in all competitions last season.
Just one point behind are Napoli, who are aiming to fill the void left by Higuain’s departure with Polish sensation Arkadiusz Milik. The striker already has six goals in five appearances for Partenopei, while Spanish forward Jose Callejon has also chipped in with five goals too.
The Naples-based club finished second last season, nine points behind Juventus, but will be confident of claiming their first league title since 1989/90 – the glory days of legend Diego Maradona.
Maurizio Sarri has a good blend of youth and experience in his ranks, particularly at right-back with 22-year-old Albanian international Elseid Hysaj, who impressed for his country at the Euro’s this summer.
Gonzalo Higuain, 28
Four Serie A goals in 2016/17
Arkadiusz Milik, 22
Four Serie A goals in 2016/17
Mauro Icardi, 23
Six Serie A goals in 2016/17
Or will it be Roma’s year for the first time since 2000/01? A Gabriel Batistuta-inspired squad including Cafu, Walter Samuel, Cristiano Zanetti, Vincenzo Montella and a 24-year-old Francesco Totti pipped Juventus to the title by two points.
With star midfielder Pjanic now plying his trade with the Old Lady, Roma may struggle for creativity from the centre of the park. Daniele De Rossi, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman aren’t your conventional flair players, but La Magicca could find some joy if they can provide opportunities for Edin Dzeko, Juan Iturbe, Mohamed Salah or Stephan El Shaarawy, a new arrival from AC Milan.
Luciano Spalletti guided Roma to third last season but may have to improve on that this time around, or be shown the exit door like predecessor Rudi Garcia.
Then there’s the tale of one city. Two clubs shrouded in history and bitter rivalry. With 18 Serie A titles each (14 behind Juventus), AC Milan and Inter will be looking to claim their first championship crown since 2010/11 and 2009/10 respectively.
AC Milan’s last title winning squad contained Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Clarence Seedorf, while Inter, under the charge of Jose Mourinho, won the treble with Maicon, Ricardo Quaresma, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o and Lucio.
Frank de Boer’s Inter side includes new signings Ever Banega and Marcelo Brozovic, while captain Mauro Icardi, a reported target for Chelsea this summer, already has six goals to his name this season.
City rivals AC Milan, managed by former Roma striker Montella, don’t look as impressive on paper but have quality young players in the ranks. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has established himself as the number one and already has one Italy cap to his name at just 17-years-old, while versatile defender Mattia de Sciglio lit up the European Championships with phenomenal performances in the wing-back role for Italy.
This campaign could be just too soon for both Milan sides and a battle for the top four will probably be a more realistic outcome.
Napoli and Roma appear to be Juventus’ main rivals for the crown this season, but will anyone stop Massimiliano Allegri’s side from claiming a sixth successive title?
WHO WILL WIN SERIE A?
Juventus aiming to secure a sixth successive title, but Napoli, Roma and both Milan giants will threaten
Article posted: 23 September 2016
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