Kicking off on Saturday August 23, the 2025-26 Serie A season promises another open title race and much more besides.
Since Napoli won their fourth Scudetto on the final matchday last term, pipping Inter Milan to the post and narrowly avoiding an unprecedented playoff, it has been all change up and down the Italian peninsula.
Most clubs have replaced their coaches - including Inter parting ways with Simone Inzaghi - while Antonio Conte confounded expectations to stay in Naples despite interest from Juventus and AC Milan.
Several big players have departed - mostly for England or Saudi Arabia - but some genuine superstars and plenty of potential world-beaters have also arrived throughout an action-packed summer.
Here, Sports Mole previews the upcoming Serie A campaign, featuring our prediction of what the final standings could look like next May.
The 2025-26 Serie A title favourites: Will Napoli, Juventus or Inter Milan win the Scudetto?
Napoli head coach Antonio Conte celebrates with the Serie A trophy on May 23, 2025
Starting at Stadio Maradona, where the title party was extended when Conte decided to stay put, Napoli must be favourites to retain their Scudetto.
Not only did controversial club president Aurelio De Laurentiis manage to keep hold of his inspirational coach, but the champions' squad has been bolstered by signings such as Kevin De Bruyne, Noa Lang and Sam Beukema.
Furthermore, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic will strengthen the goalkeeping department, while Lorenzo Lucca can stand in for injured striker Romelu Lukaku for the next few months; Serie A MVP Scott McTominay still offers a unique threat from midfield.
Only the added demands of European football may derail the Partenopei, who went toe-to-toe with Inter last term and prevailed by virtue of greater resilience and spirit.
Following their domestic failure and subsequent Champions League final evisceration, the Nerazzurri waved goodbye to Inzaghi, and it remains to be seen how inexperienced replacement Christian Chivu will cope at San Siro.
They still have a strong squad, but a manager with just a few senior games under his belt - albeit some impressive ones, having helped Parma swerve relegation - may eventually wilt under intense pressure.
As more boardroom dithering cost Juventus a chance to lure either Conte or Atalanta BC's Europa League winner Gian Piero Gasperini, it will be Igor Tudor that continues to shoulder the weight of expectation in Turin.
A pragmatic choice, he stepped in as a stabilising influence last season, following the failed Thiago Motta experiment, and a couple of smart additions could see Juve push their way into a title fight.
Serie A's fight for Europe in 2025-26
AC Milan's Rafael Leao on August 17, 2024
Though Motta's old club Bologna extended Vincenzo Italiano's deal after winning the Coppa Italia, elsewhere coaches have been sacked right, left and centre.
Following Claudio Ranieri's latest retirement, Roma have rolled the dice on Gasperini, but AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina have all returned to familiar faces who they hope will secure Champions League qualification.
Turning to their 2011 title-winning boss Max Allegri, Milan will not have European football to 'distract' them this term, so a refreshed squad featuring Luka Modric may bounce back from finishing eighth in 2024-25.
Selling Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City and Theo Hernandez to Al-Hilal funded a much-needed rebuild, but the Rossoneri surely cannot think about fighting for the title just yet.
Over in Tuscany, ex-Milan coach Stefano Pioli is back at Stadio Franchi, where he was previously in charge from 2017 to 2019. Having kept Moise Kean - so far - can Fiorentina improve on sixth spot and finally claim Conference League glory?
Meanwhile, in the capital, Maurizio Sarri has returned to cash-strapped Lazio and faces a battle to improve the inconsistent Biancocelesti, whereas 'Gasp' is expected to work his magic at Roma.
He will employ the formula so successfully used for nine years in Bergamo, where Atalanta's new era will be led by Gasperini's former protege at Genoa, ex-Roma and Southampton boss Ivan Juric.
With Mateo Retegui already departed and Ademola Lookman hell-bent on leaving, La Dea face a real challenge to maintain their recent progress - and Juric has plenty to prove after a terrible 2024-25 campaign.
So, can Como come through the pack and improve on their top-10 finish? One of Calcio's biggest spenders this summer, they are primed to pick up even more points over the next few months, and keeping Cesc Fabregas at the club despite strong interest from Inter was a real bonus.
Who could be relegated from Serie A in 2025-26?
Cagliari forward Roberto Piccoli reacts on March 7, 2025
As is usually the case, promoted teams are among the favourites to go straight back down - albeit not so much as in the Premier League - but Fabio Grosso's Sassuolo are well-equipped to buck that trend.
The 2006 World Cup winner has stayed in situ, and after bouncing straight back from Serie B as second-tier champions there is no doubt that Domenico Berardi and co can make life difficult for more fancied clubs.
After being sacked by Genoa last November, Alberto Gilardino gets another opportunity with Pisa, who are back in the big time after more than 30 years. Perhaps promotion-winning coach Pippo Inzaghi read the room, though, stepping back down a division to join ambitious Palermo - it is set to be a season-long struggle for the Nerazzurri.
Fellow new boys Cremonese ditched playoff-winner Giovanni Stroppa, instead favouring Davide Nicola, whose track record at keeping teams afloat in Serie A is superb. Despite arranging a few eye-catching loans, the Grigiorossi's squad still looks short of quality, so they may be beaten to survival by Nicola's most recent club Cagliari.
Curiously, the Sardinian side opted to promote primavera boss Fabio Pisacane rather than turn to one of many familiar faces on the coaching carousel, and staying up will be their sole target.
Another interesting appointment was 30-year-old Carlos Cuesta at Parma, who has worked under Mikel Arteta for Arsenal and now follows in Chivu's footsteps. That represents a risk, so the Crociati will surely be glad just to keep their top-flight status.
Either desperately unlucky or an expert in failure, Eusebio Di Francesco has been given a chance to revive his career after successive relegations, having come close to avoiding the drop with Frosinone and Venezia. His return to Lecce could galvanise the Salentini, but losing main man Nikola Krstovic to Atalanta puts young Milan loanee Francesco Camarda under pressure to step up.
While Torino and Udinese should stay above the scrap for salvation, Hellas Verona could also find themselves dragged in, so it might well be a multi-club scramble once again.
Which notable signings have been made by Serie A sides?
Luka Modric of AC Milan, 18 August 2025
Though De Bruyne's arrival at Napoli grabbed the early headlines - with the 34-year-old playmaker suited perfectly to Serie A and sure of a warm welcome in Campania - another star's belated move to his boyhood heroes takes top prize.
Luka Modric was keen to extend his incredible stay at Real Madrid, but a late-career switch to Milan is quite the consolation - particularly as he grew up idolising Zvonimir Boban wearing the club's iconic red-and-black jersey.
Two Croatian talents of a different generation are also embarking on their first stay in Italy: Martin Baturina could be one of Como's best signings of a busy summer, while Petar Sucic aims to make an impact at Inter.
Staying at San Siro, Reijnders is a huge loss to the league, so Belgian football's player of the year Ardon Jashari and Samuele Ricci have big shoes to fill alongside Modric in Milan's midfield.
At the sharp end of the pitch, Jonathan David is the most exciting arrival at Juventus, as the Canadian marksman signed on a free transfer after leaving Lille.
He may be approaching his peak, but Roma's loan striker Evan Ferguson will be looking to re-find lost momentum, and rising star Ange-Yoan Bonny has tough competition to beat at Inter following his summer switch from Parma.
Some other 'new boys' look a little more grey around the temples. Evergreen frontmen Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile have both been lured back - by Fiorentina and Bologna respectively - and Alvaro Morata will play under former Spain teammate Fabregas in Como.
Elsewhere, the signings of Lennon Miller (Udinese) - who joins a growing Scottish contingent in Serie A - Romania captain Nicolae Stanciu (Genoa), David's Canada colleague Ismael Kone (Sassuolo) and wildcard winger Zakaria Aboukhlal (Torino) could all pay dividends come May.
Who could finish as Serie A’s top scorer in 2025-26?
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez on November 10, 2024
Reigning Capocannoniere Mateo Retegui has renounced his throne by departing for Saudi Arabia, leaving top spot in Serie A's scoring charts very much up for grabs.
Outside shots such as Krstovic and Ferguson - plus gnarled veterans like Dzeko and Immobile - may not quite hit the heights required, so a few familiar faces are leading contenders.
Without doubt, 2023-24 winner Lautaro Martinez and his Inter teammate Marcus Thuram are more than capable, while Kean is intent on continuing his career revival in Florence after finishing second last term.
Lookman's future is still up in the air - much like Dusan Vlahovic at Juve - but Lucca may get an extended chance to impress in Lukaku's absence, and he should at least hit double figures again.
Finally, David has compiled an impressive CV in both Ligue 1 and Europe, so if the Bianconeri hit their stride he might start racking up Serie A strikes.
Predicted 2025-26 Serie A table
1. Napoli (C)
2. Inter Milan
3. Juventus
4. Roma
5. AC Milan
6. Fiorentina
7. Lazio
8. Atalanta BC
9. Como
10. Bologna
11. Genoa
12. Torino
13. Sassuolo
14. Udinese
15. Hellas Verona
16. Cagliari
17. Parma
18. Lecce (R)
19. Pisa (R)
20. Cremonese (R)
ID:579750:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect16681: