Serie A is a far cry from what it was back in the 90s or early 2000s. Yet, it is still one of the top five European leagues, and it isn’t fourth or fifth. While the big Italian clubs lack the popularity of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United/City, Liverpool, or Chelsea, and even more lack their finding, there are still plenty of fans of the top tier of Italian football all over the world.
Because there are no state-funded teams in Serie A and no out-of-this-world-rich American owners are leading the top clubs, Serie A offers more parity than the Premier League and La Liga. For true fans of the sport, this means more than millions of dollars are spent in the transfer market every year. While no Italian team is remotely close to being favored to win the Champions League, this year’s Serie A title race is interesting from a football perspective and for online sports betting fans.
With 16 rounds behind us already, things are heating up at the top of the table. This year’s football season in Italy could be one of the most interesting in recent memory. More than a few teams are aiming to finish at the top of the table, and with more than half of the fixture still on the schedule, anything could happen. Below, you can find our pick and predictions for the top of the table when it’s all said and done in the Serie A 2024/25 season.
Inter Milan
While not sitting at the top of the table, Inter Milan remains the top favorite to win. Simone Inzaghi is one of the top managers in the league, and he proved himself even on the European scene by reaching the final of the CL less than two seasons ago. His tactics work perfectly in the Serie A, and it seems Inter is reaching top form at the right stage of the season. The San Siro powerhouse sits third at the table, with one game in hand to the leaders at Atalanta and three points behind. With their current form, we can see that they easily beat Fiorentina when it was decided that they would reschedule their match as Inter Milan comfortably beat Lazio in the last round, 0:6 at Olimpico.
Inter Milan has scored 14 goals in the last three matches, and at the moment, they’re the most efficient team in the league despite having one match less than most of the competitors. Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram are the best duo of strikers in the league, and on their day, they are unstoppable. They get all the provisions they need backed by Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanolgu, and Henrik Mkhitaryan. Inter looks as solid as ever at the back with Bastoni and de Vrij, and Acerbi’s return is also awaited. Despite not topping the table now, we can’t look past Inter Milan to be the champions in May.
Napoli
Napoli ended the reign of Milan teams and Juventus two seasons ago, which had dominated Serie A for so long. They could not continue in the same manner last year, but this season with Antonio Conte, they appear poised to write their names in history books once again. Conte won titles in every team he coached, and nothing less is expected in Naples. After a terrific start to the season, Napoli started showing first signs of dropping in form. In the last 5 matches, they drew against Inter and lost to Lazio. So far, they have 11 wins, 2 draws, and 3 defeats.
Many people believed Napoli didn’t stand a chance in the title race when Victor Osimeh left the team despite Antonio Conte’s arrival. Yet, the former Juventus, Inter Milan, and Chelsea man didn’t want the drama around Osimeh to affect his team’s spirits. Instead, he brought in his favorite weapon, Romelu Lukaku, and that move is already reaping the dividends, with the prolific Belgian striker netting 6 goals paired with 4 assists. Napoli has a well-rounded squad of Scott McTominay, Lobotka, Anguissa, Politano, Buongiorno, and Kvaratskhelia. If Conte manages to shore up their defense as he usually does with his teams, we can see him pushing Inter Milan and the rest of the contenders till the last round. For sport betting fans, having a few quids put on Napoli could be a good investment despite them being minor underdogs to win the Serie A.
Atalanta Bergamo
Only a few years ago, and you’d think we’re crazy for even suggesting such an outcome. Yet, here we are. This is the right moment to head over to Stake and put your claim on Atalanta Bergamo to win Serie A. Gian Piero Gasperini did wonders with a small team from northern Italy. Back in the day, Atalanta was one of the Yo-Yo teams in Italy, frequently going up and down with long spells in the middle of the table. It all changed with Gasperini’s arrival in Bergamo. While Atalanta was renowned for their youth setup, producing players such as Gaetano Scirea, Roberto Donadoni, Giampaolo Pazzini, and Riccardo Montolivo, these days, they’re better known as a team able to find rocks in the mud and make gems out of them. They’ve proved that their system works with the sales of Franck Kessié, Dejan Kulusevski, and Amad Diallo.
Even right now, the Atalanta team consists mainly of players who failed at other teams, were brought from rivals in Italy, or only play world-class in Gasperini’s system. This season, they have Retegui firing on all cylinders after a middling season at Genoa. De Ketelaere is playing in a manner that Milan wanted him to play but failed to make him do so, while Lookman looks like Nigerian Messi on his promising night. Local talent is present as ever with names such as Ruggeri, Carnesecchi, Bellanova, and Brescianini.
Atalanta has been building for success for the last decade, and they finally appear to be ready to take the Serie A title home. After 16 rounds, they are sitting at the top of the league with 37 points and have 10 consecutive wins. Retegui is the league’s top scorer with 12 goals, and Lookman is not far behind with 8. The way things stand right now, they look poised to finish at one of the top three spots in the league, with the title appearing to never be closer.
Last year, when Atalanta won the Europa League by demolishing Liverpool in the finals, they finally showed that the team led by Gasperini was ready to fight the sharks in Italy’s pond. La Dea is also playing relatively well in Europe, and with a good string of games late in the league stage of CL, they could stay in that competition through the spring. While this may appear as an achievement, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they ‘forfeit’ their games in the Champions League to focus on the domestic competition that would make this Atalanta team legendary.
Juventus
Falling giants. While Juve can always stay caught up on other teams in Italy due to their stature, they have had a rough patch in the last few years. The dominance they started in the 2011/12 Season ended after nine consecutive titles, and in the previous few years, Inter, Milan, and Napoli have all won titles, but Juventus wasn’t in the story. They were not close. It was believed that Massimiliano Allegri was the problem, and his rigid football, yet the same issues persisted in Turin even after he left.
The new era started with the appointment of Thiago Motta, but the former Inter Milan player and the coach of Bologna, whom he had played out of this world, failed to leave a mark on this Juve side. If no one told you he was hired, you’d still think Allegri is leading the team. A new coach came in, but the old habits remained. Strong at the back and inefficient at the front, this Juve team is not losing games; they’re not winning either. After 16 rounds, they have 28 points, with 6 wins and 10 draws. This is a crazy statistic.
Motta came in, sold or loaned the deadwood, and brought in players that would suit his play style. So far, no player stands out in this Juve side. Douglas Luiz, Teun Koopmeiners, Thuram, Di Gregorio, Conceicao, Gonzalez, Cabal, and Kalulu were brought in. They joined a quality core consisting of Vlahovic, Cambiaso, Locatelli, Danilo, and Bremer. The injury to Bremer was a brutal blow to Juventus’s aspirations as he is one of the best defenders in the league, and after his injury, Juve started leaking goals left and right.
The jury is still out on Motta and this Juventus team, with big things being expected from Turkish wunderkind Kenan Yildiz, one of the most talented players in the world. When things settle down in Turin, we can expect Juve to start winning games more likely than they’ll start losing them. Their schedule is challenging early in January with congested fixtures in Serie A, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, and the Champions League. Yet, if this is the part of the year when they will peak form, the spring-time Juve might be racing for the title.
Fiorentina
For years, Fiorentina was a team that constantly flirted with the top of the table. They failed year in and year out to join the title race, but things seem different this time. The summer behind us was a time of turnaround in Florence. Their stadium renovations are underway, the new coach is in town, and Raffaele Palladino is doing good work so far. Viola is at the 4th place in the league with 31 points from 15 matches. Like Inter, they have one fixture less due to Edoardo Bove’s injury during the game.
Unlike previous years, Fiorentina had a good transfer window, bringing in players such as Adli, Cataldi, Kean, and Colpani, who Palladino trusts from their days in Monza. They’ve joined a solid core, which now in Florence consists of players such as Gosens, Beltran, Ranieri, Comuzzo, Dodo, Biraghi, Gudmundsson, Ikone, Kayode, Sotil, Mandragora, Parisi, and De Gea.
Fiorentina is playing on two fronts, and they’re also participating in the Europe Conference League, where they’re one of the leaders. Together with Napoli and Juventus, Viola has one of the best defenses in the league, which wasn’t something they had in past years. If they hit top speed and have a nice run of form in the next few months, they could find themselves in the title race in April and May, but things may need to go their way.
Lazio & Milan
When it comes to team quality, Lazio lacks a lot compared to other title favorites in Italy. This notion was best seen during their home match against Inter, in which they were demolished 0:6. This was an embracing result, and it showed that the best Lazio can hope for is to fight for a CL spot.
Milan is in an even worse situation than Lazio if you look at the position on the table. Unlike Lazio, Milan has some world-class players who must play up to their potential. At the end of the year, we can guarantee that Milan will end up in a higher spot than Lazio, especially if they part ways with Fonseca and hire Allegri. Sooner or later, Rafael Leao will have to start playing like he can, and when backed by Pulisic, Abraham, Okafor, and Morata, Milan has enough firepower to run the table.
In any case, Lazio and Milan are honorable mentions as they need more quality to mount a title challenge seriously or are already far behind in the race like Milan. Inter Milan, Napoli, and Juventus will decide the title race the same way it was during the last decade or so. The game fans genuinely hope that Atalanta and Fiorentina can keep up their dream form late into the season, as that would make Serie A a must-watch TV this year.