With many Italian football fans setting themselves up for a hopeful title challenge this season Serie A will be making its comeback next week after the conclusion of the international break
Viewership is currently being bolstered by the arrival of several high profile managers with markets in Europe, the Middle East and as far afield as Australia looking to establish strong footholds.
In fact Australian betting sites amongst others are predicting a tighter title race than ever with Inter Milan, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan and Roma all relatively well priced in the odds.
Upsetting the applecart
Covid has affected the finances of many of Europe’s elite, with the likes of Juventus and newly crowned champions Inter Milan having to offload top players in Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku.
With the Turin giant’s firm grip on domestic football broken last season, and Inter entering into a fire sale this summer, the hope is that the race for the title is thrown wide open.
Already Italian sides that have fallen by the wayside in recent years are looking like potential Scudetto contenders.
Roma in race for the title?
Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten streak at home in Serie A was extended to 42 consecutive matches in Serie A. The Portuguese is currently in his second stint as manager in Italy and will be hoping to guide Roma to their first championship since the turn of the century.
Mourinho’s record represents the best home streak since the 1994/95 season, but has been tarnished by losses away to Verona and bitter rivals Lazio.
After seven matches Roma are sitting in a similar position to where they were last season and are already trailing league leaders Napoli by a not insignificant margin of six points. Mourinho has a lot of work to do both in the transfer market and on the training pitch if he is to make his Roma side worthy challengers.
Rossoneri looking for resurgence
Jose Mourinho isn’t the only one looking to break records. AC Milan have currently made their best start to a Serie A league campaign since the 2003/04 campaign. The Rossoneri have currently tallied up a total of 19 points so far in the league.
Milan are currently unbeaten in Serie A, with a sole draw away to Juventus, the only match in which they’ve dropped points. They currently trail league leaders Napoli who only better them by being unbeaten after a blistering start.
Luciano Spaletti’s Napoli are flying high with a perfect league record but still have a number of tough tests not so far on the horizon. Spaletti will be wary of a Europa League campaign that has derailed many of Europe’s bigger sides with a gruelling Thursday-Sunday schedule.
The dominance of Juventus has threatened to stifle the appeal of Italian football in recent years but heading into a spate of matches leading up until the winter break over Christmas and New Year will be the true test of many hopeful title contenders.
