It was all change at the top of Serie A last season. Juventus’ dominance of Italian football was ended in pretty spectacular style by Inter Milan who won the Scudetto for the first time since 2010. While Inter fans would be distraught were they to go another decade without winning Serie A, their chances of a repeat win appear slim after high profile departures including Romelu Lukaku, Archraf Hakimi and manager Antonio Conte.
Inter are not the only Serie A team who have had to shed players recently. However, there have been some exciting additions to the league such as Tammy Abraham joining Roma from Chelsea and Weston McKennie joining Juventus from Schalke as well as some pretty big deals between clubs in the division.
There is a feeling of unpredictability about the start of the new Serie A season. That means excitement and some opportunity to be found in the betting so let’s have a look at three of the big markets.
Inter have a huge task ahead of them to defend the Serie A title.
Serie A Outright Winner Market
Juventus 10/11 (Paddy Power)
Inter Milan 4/1 (888sport)
Atalanta 11/2 (Ladbrokes)
Napoli 12/1 (Paddy Power)
AC Milan 14/1 (Coral)
Roma 18/1 (bet365)
(Please note all odds are correct at time of article publishing)
There are two very big, obvious reasons why Juventus are the odds on favourites to win the Scudetto. They are the best team. They have the best manager.
It was the inability of rookie manager Andrea Pirlo to get the most out of an extremely talented group of players, as much as the brilliance of Inter, that cost Juventus any chance of winning Serie A for a 10th straight year. That will not be a problem this season. The club have cut their losses with Pirlo and gone back to the tried and tested, six-time Scudetto winner, Max Allegri. Five of Allegri’s title wins came in his first spell as Juventus manager and according to the bookies’ odds at least, he is highly likely to add another title to his trophy haul.
Punters may initially be put off Juventus’ price of 10/11 with Paddy Power to win the title but it is going to be very difficult for any of the chasing pack to stop them. Inter are not the force of last season, Atalanta are hugely exciting but are yet to prove they have the strength in depth to mount a concerted title challenge and Napoli have a lot to prove in terms of their consistency even with the experienced Luciano Spalletti in charge.
Of the outsiders for the title, Roma could be an interesting option. It was a condition of Jose Mourinho taking the job that he would be given money to spend and there can be no excuses from him on that front. Mourinho has strengthened the squad in several areas and now has a team full of creativity and defensive nous. Their price of 18/1 with bet365 reflects the size of the challenge facing Mourinho but Roma could be a surprise package.
Top Four Finish Market
Juventus 1/8 (bet365)
Inter Milan 4/11 (888sport)
Atalanta 2/5 (bet365)
Napoli Evens (bet365)
AC Milan 6/5 (888sport)
Roma 6/4 (bet365)
Lazio 9/4 (bet365)
Sassuolo 13/1 (888sport)
Perhaps the best way of backing Roma under Mourinho this season is for them to finish inside the top four at 6/4 with bet365. Mourinho knows as well as anybody the importance of playing Champions League football and he is setting high expectations for his newly rebuilt squad.
While Mourinho’s reputation has taken a hammering in England after his problems at Man Utd and Tottenham, he is still held in very high regard in Italy and the Roma squad appear happy with the new man in charge. While they lack the quality of some of the teams ahead of them in the betting, Roma should be able to make up for that with the addition of Mourinho’s nous and knowledge of Italian football so a top four berth beckons.
Top Goalscorer Market
Cristiano Ronaldo 9/4 (bet365)
Duvan Zapata 6/1 (bet365)
Ciro Immobile 9/1 (bet365)
Luis Muriel 10/1 (bet365)
Lautaro Martinez 12/1 (bet365)
Dusan Vlahovic 14/1 (bet365)
Edin Dzeko 20/1 (bet365)
Tammy Abraham 20/1 (bet365)
Siiiiuuuuu! Cristiano Ronaldo will give the Juventus fans plenty to celebrate once again this season.
Romelu Lukaku was rightly credited with being the key man for Inter during last season’s title challenge. The Belgian had the season of his life for the league winners and yet he still finished five goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts.
After Carlo Ancelotti rubbished reports that he was interested in bringing the 36-year-old back to Real Madrid, Ronaldo is set for another season leading the line for Juventus and it would be a surprise were anybody to match him in the goalscoring stakes. That is not to say that there is a lack of quality forwards in Serie A but there is only one Cristiano Ronaldo who is very much the worthy favourite to be top scorer at 9/4 with bet365.
Betting Recommendations
Juventus to win Serie A at 10/11 with Paddy Power
Roma to finish in the top four at 6/4 with bet365
Cristiano Ronaldo to be top goalscorer at 9/4 with bet365
