Juventus won last season’s Serie A title far too easily, but they weren’t streets ahead of the rest. The Old Lady won their ninth straight Italian title by a single point from Inter Milan, while Atalanta and Lazio both looked like challengers at stages.
With Juve making a surprise move for Andrea Pirlo as their new manager their place at the top of the tree in Italy looks more vulnerable than ever. With challengers emerging, there are a few contenders to run through in the 2020/21 race for the scudetto.
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Serie A Winner
Serie A Winner Odds
This is a market which Juventus always lead, but you can see that they’ve drifted a little given the uncertainty around their choice of manager.
Odds correct as of 11am on 16th September 2020 on bet365.com
- Juventus – 10/11
- Inter Milan – 15/8
- Napoli – 11/1
- Atalanta – 12/1
- Lazio – 20/1
Serie A Winner Prediction – Inter Milan
Juventus tailing off allowed Inter Milan to move within a point of them in the final standings, but there wasn’t that much between them. The Nerazzurri passed up crucial opportunities to take the initiative in the title race, which ultimately cost them.
However, Antonio Conte has agreed to stay on for another season with the scudetto his aim. They have bolstered their wing-back positions, signing Aleksandar Kolorov from Roma and Achraf Hakimi from Real Madrid. The Hakimi move was an inspired one, a real statement of intent for Inter.
The Nerazzurri impressed in the Europa League and have proven striking talent up front. The partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez can take them far. Last season Inter scored more and conceded fewer than Juventus. That’s a good start, while Conte is capable of hauling them beyond a Juve side who have an inexperienced manager in charge.
Serie A Top Scorer
Serie A Top Scorer Odds
Cristiano Ronaldo is the obvious favourite to be Serie A’s top scorer, but there are a few bigger, more tempting prices further down in this market. With last season’s Capocannoniere race proving to be one of the most exciting in years, we expect another high-scoring shootout between Italy’s attacking stars this season.
Odds correct as of 11am on 16th September 2020 on bet365.com
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) – 11/5
- Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) – 7/2
- Ciro Immobile (Lazio) – 13/2
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) – 8/1
- Duvan Zapata (Atalanta) – 10/1
Serie A Top Scorer Prediction – Duvan Zapata
He may not be a household name, but it’s hard to look past the number nine for the league’s top scorers. Atalanta create and convert plenty of chances, with Zapata one of their star men.
Last season Zapata hit 18 goals, a total only bettered by four players in the league. However, the most impressive thing was that those 18 goals came in just 18 starts. The Colombian missed nearly three months of the season and still came close to a 20-goal haul.
Zapata started just once from the bench last season, so if he’s fit he’ll start and get plenty of chances in this Atalanta side. With his side looking to kick on and improve once again this season, we think Zapata’s goal tally will play a key role, so he’s our first top scorer pick at 10/1.
Serie A Top Scorer Prediction – Francesco Caputo
Three of the four men who outscored Zapata last season are the three favourites for this season’s golden boot. The other is Francesco Caputo, an incredibly tempting 33/1 shot to sweep up the prize.
Caputo hit 21 goals for Sassuolo last season, an increase on his 15 goal haul with Empoli the season before. He’s the focal point in a Sassuolo side who are targeting Europe under highly-rated manager Roberto De Zerbi.
De Zerbi has created an impressive attacking setup and we expect Caputo to kick on at the head of it. While the 33-year-old isn’t the obvious contender to outscore Ronaldo and Lukaku, at 33/1 he’s a brilliant each-way pick.
Serie A Top 4
Serie A Top 4 Odds
The top four race was over pretty quickly last season but expect that to change this term. Napoli, Roma and AC Milan were all left out of the Champions League chase and they’ll be pushing for a return to the top four.
Odds correct as of 11am on 16th September 2020 on bet365.com
- Juventus – 1/18
- Inter Milan – 1/8
- Napoli – 8/11
- Atalanta – 4/5
- AC Milan – 11/10
- Lazio – 6/4
Serie A Top 4 Predictions – Lazio
At times last season Lazio looked like the best side in Italy. They had title ambitions before the league was shut down, but the hectic schedule hurt them. The Biancocelesti had effectively surrendered in Europe to leave midweeks free to boost their title hopes. Losing that advantage played a key role in them falling short.
While the fixture pile-up hurt them, Lazio can take plenty from their season overall. Their return to the Champions League is a great achievement, something they won’t want to give up after a single season.
The club have been making transfer moves to pad out their squad ahead of a tough campaign on multiple fronts. Deepening the squad is all they really need to do, given that they’ve kept hold of Immobile, Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Lazio have talent, squad depth and one of the best managers in Italy. Simone Inzaghi has done an incredible job at the Olimpico, while we think they can maintain their top-four place. While the sides behind them are stronger, we still don’t think they’ve closed last season’s eight-point gap.
Serie A Top 4 Predictions – Atalanta
While Lazio look too strong for the chasing pack, the same can be said about Atalanta. They’ve finished third in back-to-back seasons, while their Champions League exploits last term showed how good they are. In fact, a late run of good form very nearly pulled them into the title race. They went to Juventus and won after the restart, a game which saw the champions played off the park at their own ground.
Atalanta are a brilliant unit with attacking threats across the park. Ahead of this season, they’ve made a few interesting moves, with defenders Cristian Romero and Cristiano Piccini joining on loan. However, the key thing has been their stability, so making Mario Pasalic’s move permanent is also important. La Dea will be looking at this season as a chance to get closer to the title contenders, after finishing just five points shy of the title last term. We think they’re too strong to drop out of the top four, so Atalanta look well priced to record a fourth top-four finish in five seasons.
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