The 2020/21 Serie A season is almost upon us and despite another year of Juventus dominance, could things change in the coming campaign?

Juventus were given something of a fight last season as they clinched nine consecutive Scudetti, and with the acquisitions of Weston McKennie, Arthur and Dejan Kulusevski they have added some fresh legs to new boss Andrea Pirlo’s squad.

However, Inter will be hoping to go one better than last season, as well as high flying Atalanta, with Lazio, Roma, Napoli and AC Milan all in the mix.

Serie A welcome Benevento and Crotone back after securing promotion from Serie B, with Spezia set for their first ever campaign in the top flight.

The team at Forza Italian Football have been discussing how they think the Serie A season will unfold this year, and we have put our predictions together in one place for your convenience.

Conor – @ConJClancy

Top four (in order 1-4): Inter, Atalanta, Juventus, Milan
Relegated (in order 18-20): Udinese, Crotone, Spezia
Top Scorer: Romelu Lukaku
Player to watch: Ebrima Colley

What would you like to see this season?
A team in black and blue celebrating the Scudetto come the end of the season. Not one of the FIF team predicted that Atalanta would finish in the top four last season – shows what we know. Every summer they’ve been doubted but have improved with each passing year and I think that 2020/21 could be the season that if you finish above La Dea you win the title. Balancing Europe with Serie A will be difficult again and it caused them trouble early last season, but they’ve strengthened this summer and the only player they’ve lost was a backup full-back. That said, I’d still make Inter favourites and if they aren’t motivated by stopping Juventus hitting 10 in a row with a coach who has never coached before then we might as well all give up now.

Vito – @VitoCDoria

Top four: Juventus, Inter, Atalanta, Milan
Relegated: Udinese, Spezia, Crotone.
Top Scorer: Duvan Zapata
Player to watch: Sofyan Amrabat

What would you like to see this season?
Atalanta springing a surprise and winning their first Serie A title would be great for the image of Italian football because of their style of play and it would also give other underdogs hope. Federico Bonazzoli regularly starting in attack for Sampdoria would be great too and I think he can have a breakthrough season after having a purple patch after the lockdown. I would like to see Marco Giampaolo succeed at Torino and his attacking philosophy might suit star striker Andrea Belotti. Although I expect Spezia to be relegated, I hope they shock everyone and avoid the drop.

Suhayl – @suhayl92

Top four: Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Milan
Relegated: Hellas Verona, Crotone, Spezia
Top Scorer: Romelu Lukaku
Player to watch: Victor Osimhen

What would you like to see this season?
At risk of sounding like a broken record, Serie A needs a real title fight and a new name on the Scudetto at the end of the season. The Milan clubs will hopefully sort themselves out from their respective messes, whilst it would be beneficial for the league to see Roma’s faith in young, and mainly Italian, talent pay off.

Adriano – @adriboin

Top four: Inter, Juventus, Milan, Atalanta
Relegated: Genoa, Benevento, Spezia
Top Scorer: Ciro Immobile
Player to watch:  Achraf Hakimi

What would you like to see this season?
What would you like to see this season: A smaller club have a real stab at European qualification with attacking and exciting football, in the mould of Hellas Verona or Sassuolo last term. It would also be great for Italian football if Nicolo Zaniolo can put his injury nightmare behind him and earn a place at the European Championship next summer.

Marco – @Marco4J

Top four:  Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Milan
Relegated:  Crotone, Verona, Spezia
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku
Player to watch: Victor Osimhen

What would you like to see this season?
Finally, somebody to topple Juventus, but intrinsic to that, a lot of teams on a similar level vying for supremacy. If the progress being made by both Milan clubs continues, it promises to be an exciting few years.

Dov – @DovSchiavone

Top four: Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Atalanta
Relegated: Benevento, Crotone, Spezia
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku
Player to watch: Weston McKennie

What would you like to see this season?
The same thing as I wish for every season… A Scudetto race. We almost got one last season, but coronavirus put a stop to that. So hopefully there will be no bumps in the road and we can see Juventus really pushed. Other than that, some excitement for the other end of season trophies as the Champions League, Europa League and two relegation spots were all but decided well in advance. I hope for a close competitive competition, with some surprises along the way. Finally, get fans back into the stadia!

Alasdair – @aksmackenzie

Top four: Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Lazio
Relegated: Genoa, Benevento, Crotone
Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo
Player to watch: Mert Muldur

What would you like to see this season?
Fierce competition across the division. I expect a close title race between Inter and Juventus and an even tighter battle for the final two Champions League spots, while it’s very hard to call who is going down this season. But above all I’d like to see fans back in the stadiums, when it’s safe to do so. Serie A just isn’t the same without the colour and passion of the supporters.

Andrea – @Ago_Andrea

Top four: Juventus, Inter, Atalanta, Milan
Relegated: Parma, Spezia, Udinese
Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo
Player to watch: Giacomo Raspadori

What would you like to see this season?
I’d love to see some drama for the Scudetto until the last day of the season. And I’d love to see fans back in stadiums. As much as I love to hear what coaches are shouting to the players, I’d rather have a big roar after a goal.

Shaun – @shaun_biondi

Top four: Inter, Juve, Atalanta, Napoli
Relegated: Udinese, Crotone, Spezia
Top scorer: Ciro Immobile
Player to watch: Victor Osimhen

What would you like to see this season?
A title race resulting in a different winner. Inter and Conte will be smelling blood after Juve’s decision to hire the inexperienced Andrea Pirlo. The race for Champions League and Europa League will also hopefully throw up some exciting twists along the way.

Dan – @DJBfootball

Top four: Atalanta, Juventus, Inter, Napoli
Relegated: Spezia, Genoa, Benevento
Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo
Player to watch: Achraf Hakimi

What would you like to see this season?
Atalanta to win the Scudetto, they’ve been knocking on the door for the last few seasons and are by far the most entertaining team to watch in Serie A. Also I want to see Milan become a force again to add to the competition at the top.

Ben – @BenHughes1989

Top four: Inter, Juventus, Milan, Roma
Relegated: Genoa, Crotone, Spezia
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku
Player to watch: Cengiz Under

What would you like to see this season?
More of what we had last season, pre-COVID, in terms of more horses being in the race. A top four return for Milan and Roma would also be good for the league. Ultimately, I want a different winner for once.

Padraig – @PWhelan88

Top four: Atalanta, Inter, Juventus, Milan
Relegated: Udinese, Benevento, Spezia
Top scorer: Andrea Belotti
Player to watch: Riccardo Calafiori

What would you like to see this season?
Atalanta to pull off the greatest title fairytale since Leicester City stunned English football in 2016. They are capable, have signed well this summer and lost only one player in Timothy Castagne and it would be the perfect tonic for everyone, particularly the Bergamo public after all they’ve been through, in the current climate if they can do it.

The post Serie A 2020/21 - Predictions first appeared on Forza Italian Football.

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement