How Can Inter Hold onto Their Serie A Lead in 2024-2025? | OneFootball

Inter have their sights firmly set on a Serie A title defense this season, and with less than a quarter of the campaign remaining, sit at the top of the table. With the Nerazzurri being well positioned to secure another Scudetto, the question remains of whether they can go all the way. Will they be able to fend off the challenge of Napoli, the only genuine contender left to their title ambitions?

A Long Wait About To Be Over?

Since the long nine-year reign of dominance that Juventus produced between 2012 to 2020 came to an end, no team has managed to claim back-to-back Serie A titles. Inter last won back-to-back league titles in 2010.

That’s a firm indicator of how open and competitive the league has been recently. Given that they haven’t finished outside of the top three in any of the last five seasons, however, Inter at the very least look a certainty to go close this term.

The Bookmaker View

After 32 of the 38 rounds of action in this season’s Italian top flight had been completed, Inter were just three points clear of Napoli. At the time, Inter were pegged as firm favorites in the outright winner market, with odds suggesting a 77.5% probability of them lifting the title. In contrast, their nearest title challengers, Napoli, were quoted as having around a 25% chance of winning Serie A. The sportsbooks, therefore, had significant confidence in the Nerazzurri from that position.

The Challengers

After seeing top striker Victor Osimhen join up with Turkish Super League side Galatasaray last September, few would have predicted that Napoli would rise as a title contender in the 2024-25 Serie A season. But under Antonio Conte’s managerial leadership, and with former Inter striker Romelu Lukaku leading the line, Napoli have been remarkably efficient this season.

Atalanta remained within striking distance after 30 matches, but with much bigger ground to make up to leaders Inter at that point, the probability of them winning remained low. Thus, it firmly highlighted another reason why Inter may go all the way.

Key Challengers Are Missing

You expect to see teams like Juventus, Milan, Lazio, and Roma fighting in a Serie A title race. But besides Napoli, Inter’s regular title challengers just haven’t stepped up to the plate this season. Juventus had a sluggish start, leaving themselves far too much work to do, while Roma have been unstable all season.

Lazio have been little more than defensively mediocre and Milan are likely to finish in mid-table. So Inter’s path to a potential title defense has been made easier simply because other major clubs haven’t applied pressure on them.