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5 things to watch for in Serie A this season

By Clemente Lisi

NANJING, CHINA - JULY 24: Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates scoring his side's first goal from a free kick during the International Champions Cup match between Juventus and FC Internazionale at the Nanjing Olympic Center Stadium on July 24, 2019 in Nanjing, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
NANJING, CHINA - JULY 24: Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates scoring his side's first goal from a free kick during the International Champions Cup match between Juventus and FC Internazionale at the Nanjing Olympic Center Stadium on July 24, 2019 in Nanjing, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images) /
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Dries Mertens of Napoli celebrates after scoring the first goal during the Friendly match between Marseille and Napoli at Stade Velodrome on August 4, 2019 in Marseille, France. (Photo by SSC NAPOLI/SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images)
Dries Mertens of Napoli celebrates after scoring the first goal during the Friendly match between Marseille and Napoli at Stade Velodrome on August 4, 2019 in Marseille, France. (Photo by SSC NAPOLI/SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images) /

4. Napoli and Roma favorites to dethrone the champions

Napoli made some moves on the summer transfer market, but whether it will be enough for them to stay competitive this season is the big question mark. The Partenopei finished a distant second last season. They did the same the previous season, but by a much-tighter margin. It was a title race Napoli blew over the course of the final weeks. At the time, Sarri’s over-reliance on a core of players was largely blamed for the failure.

This season, Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti, in his second season at the club, needs that right mix of defense (led by newcomer Kostas Manolas, formerly of Roma) and attack to win matches. The team, led offensively by Belgium international Dries Mertens, spent much of the summer pursuing James Rodriguez in an effort to bolster their attack. Napoli will face their first real test at the end of the month when they play at Juventus.

The other team revved up to challenge Juve is Roma. The Giallorossi did poorly for their standards last season and finished sixth. This season, Roma bolstered its defense with the acquisition of Leonardo Spinazzola and Gianluca Mancini. In addition, Bryan Cristante, who enjoyed success at Atalanta, is expected to spearhead the midfield.

There are other teams that could compete for the title, including Inter Milan and AC Milan. The two Milan clubs have been in turmoil over the past few seasons. Either one would need to exceed expectations this season in order to embark on a scudetto run.

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