Is this season’s Serie A title race a foregone conclusion? Most will probably be thinking so after the reigning champions Juventus got their hands on Cristiano Ronaldo over the summer. But that didn’t help real Madrid last season in their La Liga campaign having the Portuguese superstar in their ranks. What kind of a difference will he make to the Serie A title race?
Last season Juventus were pushed hard by Napoli and everyone will be looking to knock the Old Lady off their perch at the top. The arrival of Ronaldo in Turin may just inspire everyone else to push themselves forward just that little bit more as well. Even with that said, Juventus are the 2/5 outright favourites to win Serie A 2018/19 outright with bet365* (betting odds taken on August 17th, 2018 at 7:18 pm)
Serie A Outright Winner Odds*
Juventus 2/5
Inter Milan 5/1
Napoli 8/1
Roma 8/1
AC Milan 16/1
Lazio 66/1
Atalanta 200/1
Bar 250/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on August 17th, 2018 at 7:18 pm)
Juventus
The Old lady won the Scudetto by just the four points from Napoli last season. That was their seventh title on the bounce in Serie A. It’s been a remarkable show of dominance and no-one is immediately expecting them to fall short this term. It is not just Cristiano Ronaldo that has made his way to Turin this summer, but also heading back to his former club is Leonardo Bonucci and they got Emre Can from Liverpool no a free transfer as well. Douglas Costa joined them at the end of June.
There have been moves out of course, none bigger than Gonzalo Higuain who was snapped up AC Milan while they also sold off Mattia Caldara and Rolando Mandragora. They will also be without goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon as well as he moved on to PSG. Without a doubt, Ronaldo is going to deliver goals for Juventus and he is the 4/6 odds-on favourite to finish as the Serie A top goalscorer this season* (betting odds taken on August 17th, 2018 at 7:18 pm).
In having to shell out a huge chunk of cash for Ronaldo, Juventus have the best and deepest squad in the Italian top flight. But what they will be targeting while they have Ronaldo, is the UEFA Champions League. Will, that detract them a bit from landing yet another Scudetto? Massimiliano Allegri has a wealth of talent at his disposal, but if you look at their potential starting eleven, it’s not a young one and they aren’t worried about the future right now. They want success right now.
Inter Milan
Many are tipping Inter to be the ones to push Juventus in the Serie A title race this season. They have made it back to the UEFA Champions League thanks to a late goal from Matias Vecino against Lazio on the final day of the season. They have done a pretty good job in the summer in improving their squad, a vital move to deal with the rigours of the Champions League and the domestic campaign. Inter Milan made a big swoop for Radja Nainggolan and he will feel at home as he reunites with former coach Luciano Spalletti. They have also drafted in Kwadwo Asamoah and Stefan de Vrij along with other pieces to bolster their squad.
Inter Milan a made a really strong start last season as they went undefeated in the Italian top flight until November. It was still a big battle for them at the end of the day in a highly competitive top five in the Italian top flight. They were strong defensively but they struggled to match the goalscoring output of the likes of Juventus, Napoli and Lazio. So that is an area in which they do need improvement and it will be highly important for them to hold on to Mauro Icardi through the rest of the transfer window. Icardi is the 11/2 second favourite in the Serie A top goalscorer market* (betting odds taken on August 17th, 2018 at 7:18 pm). They will take plenty of backing in the Without Juventus market.
Napoli
Carlo Ancelotti has moved into the hot seat at Napoli after Maurizio Sarri relationship with the club turned sour and he went to Chelsea. Napoli pushed Juventus all the way to the penultimate game of last season’s Scudetto and Ancelotti, of course, is a proven winner. It was expected that he would bring some familiar faces with him like Karim Benzema, Arturo Vidal and Angel di Maria.
It hasn’t happened though and really they are pretty much as they were last season in terms of their squad. Notable departures were Jorginho to Chelsea and Pepe Reina for Milan. They have proven quality, monthly with Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik and Arkadiusz Milik. We expect them to be as strong and as organised as they were last term. But they will be back competing in the Champions League again which could detract their Serie A title race.
Visit Bet365Roma
Roma finished third last season in Serie A and it has been a big summer for them. They lost their two-star players in Radja Nainggolan and goalkeeper Alisson. Head coach Eusebio Di Francesco is a man who likes to turn towards the development of youth and the interesting thing about Roma is they look to be once again built on strength of depth as opposed to relying on out and quality. At some point, their heavy investment in youth is going to come good, but maybe this isn’t the season for that. They have Edin Dzeko who has had a really good time at the club since his move, but to highlight the strength over quality attitude, he is likely to share a lot of time up front with Patrik Schick. They got midfielder Javier Pastore in the summer who is going to be pivotal at their heart of their tactics.
Other Conteders
AC Milan and Lazio look to be short overall in terms of out and out quality to go and push for a league title. Milan did a smart bit of business in getting Gonzalo Higuain on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season, but they still look more of a work in progress than anything. Lazio were goalscoring powerhouses last season and have the goals of Ciro Immobile to rely upon. They don’t however look to have the strength at the back to compete and outfox the main four in the title race this season.
Top Goalscorer Odds*
Cristiano Ronaldo 4/6
Mauro Icardi 11/2
Gonzalo Higuain 8/12
Ciro Immobile 12/1
Edin Dzeko 14/1
Dries Mertens 25/
Paulo Dybala 33/1
Andreas Belotti 40/1
Bar 50/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on August 17th, 2018 at 7:18 pm)
Serie A 2018/19 Predictions
There is unlikely to be enough in anyone else to stop Juventus from getting another league title, although expect them to focus hard on the UEFA Champions League. There is going to be no better time than in the next couple of season for them to be crowned the Kings of Europe. Their depth is simply tremendous and isn’t likely to get knocked down.
Roma are going to do pretty much what they did last season because of their strength in depth which we like and have a new boss who could deliver the x-factor for them. We fully back them for a top four finish.
The changes at f Napoli along with European action will test their squad, but we are going to back them, along with the improving Inter Milan for a top-four finish. Expecting another fascinatingly close battle in the top four next season in Serie A.
