🔎 🇮🇹 All you need to know about the new Serie A season | OneFootball

Serie A returns for the 2020/21 campaign on Saturday evening when Fiorentina welcome Torino to Tuscany.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the new campaign.

Who are the title contenders?

Juventus, of course. Rookie boss Andrea Pirlo is aiming to steer them to an unprecedented 10th straight Scudetto.

It may be the most vulnerable they’ve been in some time but they remain favourites.

Should they falter, former boss Antonio Conte and Inter will be ready and waiting to strike for their first title in over a decade.

Atalanta will also definitely be in the shake-up and are genuine contenders, while it will be interesting to see if Lazio can put their late summer collapse behind them and mount another assault.

Can you tell me something about the promoted clubs?

This is Spezia‘s first ever taste of Serie A so many eyes will be on their fairytale bid to stay up, which looks unlikely given the (lack of) quality in their squad, having squeezed through the makeshift play-offs.

The other two sides are a little more familiar to fans of the division in recent years, particularly Benevento, who go up as runaway champions and are coached by the legendary Filippo Inzaghi.

They are joined by Crotone, who are back in the big time for just the third time in their history but like before, are largely lacking in star power, with their biggest name arguably being veteran midfielder Luca Cigarini.

Who’s going down?

Spezia won just 17 of their 38 games in last year and haven’t strengthened much so the Ligurians are a sure bet to head straight back down and the other new arrivals will also struggle.

Genoa could be in for another nerve-wracking season but rivals Sampdoria should be safe under Claudio Ranieri.

If Udinese sell Rodrigo de Paul, they’ll likely be dragged into a dogfight and Bologna went 33 consecutive games without keeping a clean sheet last year – a similar run this time may be fatal.

Are there any other interesting teams?

Milan decided to ditch their Ralf Rangnick project, have retained Zlatan Ibrahimović and brought in exciting youngsters Sandro Tonali and Brahim Díaz so San Siro will definitely be worth watching.

Keep an eye on Fiorentina too. Despite the criticism for keeping firefighter Beppe Iachini at the helm, they conceded fewer goals (20) than any other Serie A side in 2020 and have recruited brilliantly with Sofyan Amrabat and ‘Jack’ Bonaventura plus kept all of their main men.

It is hard to know what to make of other traditional big names. Roma won more points on the road than at home last season and that’s something that will have to change – and watch out for Lady Luck turning for Napoli.

In the last two seasons, they’ve hit the woodwork (51 times) more than any other team in Europe but are also coming off a campaign in which they registered their poorest points return for eight years.

What clubs have done the best business so far this summer?

Aside from the aforementioned Fiorentina, full-backs Mërgim Vojvoda and Ricardo Rodriguez have joined Torino, along with Karol Linetty. All good bits of business to go along with a smart coaching appointment in Marco Giampaolo.

They aren’t the only team to strengthen well in both full-back areas, Inter recruiting Achraf Hakimi and Aleksandar Kolarov, as well as keeping all of their star players and most importantly, Antonio Conte.

Kaan Ayhan is another who came off the Schalke production line and could be a big hit at Sassuolo.

What’s the best kit?

Home: Genoa

Honourable mentions: Atalanta, Parma

Away/Third: Crotone

Honourable mentions: Lazio (third), Verona (away)

And the worst?

Home: Cagliari

Away/Third: Inter Milan

Ok, finally, tell us who is lifting the title in May?

Juve’s reign has to end sometime doesn’t it? But it is tough to pick between Inter or Atalanta.

Let’s just say a team wearing blue and black will be celebrating in May.