Serie A Tips: Serie A 2023/24 Season Preview

Enzo previews the favourites for this years tightly contested Scudetto race and has four ante-post bets for the upcoming Italian football season

The 2022/23 season was a fantastic year for Serie A. Having an Italian representative in all three of Europe”s major club competitions was a great achievement and one which really highlighted the strength in depth of the league. It’s no surprise then that according to Opta Analyst, the Serie A 2023/24 title race is the most unpredictable of the Big 5 with up to seven teams in with shout of winning the Scudetto.

Italian Serie A winner: The Favourites

Favourites Inter Milan (7/4) saw an exodus of stars during the summer. Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Skriniar, Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku all departed leaving manager Simone Inzaghi with some big gaps to fill. Reinforcements have arrived in the form of veterans Juan Cuadrado and Yann Sommer as well as promising young talents Davide Frattesi and Marcus Thuram but unless a striker and a center back are bought before the end of the window, the Nerazzurri will start the campaign as a weaker side than the one that lost the Champions League final. Simone Inzaghi has always been a cup specialist rather than a manager who is suited to the slogfest that is the league so with new faces to integrate, some old reliables gone and a system to rejig, I feel that the domestic inconsistencies which saw Inter finish a whopping 18 points behind Napoli last season may be exacerbated.

City rivals AC Milan have been by far the most active of the Top 6 sides this transfer window. Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic and Sandro Tonali have all moved to pastures new and been replaced by seven new faces the most notable of whom being former Chelsea midfielder Christian Pulisic. None of the newcomers are exactly household names and only time will tell whether Milan have done some inspired business or landed more De Kelelaeresque flops. That being said, Stefano Pioli has the ability to work wonders with an average squad as evidenced by Milan’s 2021/22 crown so their current price of 6/1 could prove to be the bargain of the decade come June.

Champions Napoli (5/2) stunned everyone when they won their first league title in 33 years by eviscerating the competition before eventually romping home with 16 points to spare. The Partenopei wowed the world with their attacking brand of football spearheaded by Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia but in the final third of the campaign things began to slow down and Napoli were eliminated in the Champions League semi-final by a mediocre Milan. Since then, the mastermind behind their success, Luciano Spaletti, has taken a sabbatical and their defensive rock, Kim Min Jae, joined Bayern Munich. New man at the helm Rudi Garcia is by no means a bad manager but he is certainly a downgrade on his predecessor and Kim’s replacements are unknown quantities. Last season the stars aligned for Napoli. They made some incredible signings and managed to keep their normally fragile stars fit. Their rivals on the other hand were hamstrung by inconsistency, off-field problems, poor transfers and injuries. This year I don’t think that will be the case.

There is no need to rehash the disaster that was Juve’s 2022/23 season but surely things can only go better this time around. Despite a points deduction, financial penalties, an injury crisis, backroom tensions and the terrible football, Juventus (4/1) would have finished third when you discount the 10 point deduction. All things considered, that was no small feat given the circumstances. This time around things can only go better. The Bianconeri will start the season largely unchanged but with star winger Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba available from the start. They will also be able to focus solely on domestic duties after being booted out of the Conference League for breaching Financial Fair Play rules. If Max Allegri can get Vlahovic back scoring, keep morale up and key players fit, then there is no excuse for not winning the Scudetto, especially without the distraction of European football. Juventus Italian Serie A winner @ 4/1 is my outright selection for the season.

The best of the rest

In theory there are seven sides in the hunt for the the 2023/24 Serie A title but realistically only four are capable of going all the way. Roma have had a terrible market so far and will be without a striker, unless you include Belotti in that category, until Tammy Abraham returns in February. Atalanta landed Gianluca Scamacca which has the potential to be the signing of the summer but don’t have the strength in depth to fully contend. Finally, Lazio lost Milinkovic Savic but brought in Japanese international Daichi Kamada and most likely Nicolò Rovella as replacements. The Biancocelesti always seem to exceed expectations and though a third Scudetto is probably out of reach, Lazio Top 4 Finish @ 6/4 is well worth a bet.

Italian Serie A: Relegation

Newly promoted sides generally fare badly in the top flight and their stay is usually a brief one. However, this season may be a bit different with heavyweights Cagliari and Genoa returning to their rightful home. Frosinone (1/2) are obvious favorites for the drop and offer no value but Hellas Verona (Evs) has potential. The Mastini are lucky not to be in Serie B this year and only survived by beating Spezia in a playoff despite having a worse h2h and goal difference. Verona to be relegated @ EVS is my final preseason Serie A bet.