Eight weeks have passed since the end of last season and the 2023/24 Serie A campaign is coming into view. The fixtures are out and, after a relatively gentle opening for the league title hopefuls, the big games come thick and fast from Round Three onwards.
Napoli begin their Serie A title defence with a trip to Frosinone on 19th August, while Inter Milan host Monza and Juventus visit Udinese in their 2023/24 openers. This is the most competitive league in Europe, with seven teams realistically in with a shout of Scudetto glory and the battle for Champions League places will be as fierce as ever.
Let’s take a look at our SBOTOP picks for the matches not to miss once the campaign begins to gather momentum.
1st September: Roma vs AC Milan
September kicks off with a cracker in the Olympic Stadium in Rome where Jose Mourinho’s Roma entertains the 2022 league champions, now coached by Stefano Pioli. Roma finished sixth last season while Milan nicked the final Champions League place in fourth. Mourinho will be back on the touchline having served his ten day ban for calling Daniele Chiffi the ‘worst referee’ he had ever seen at the end of last season. There is a risk Roma will be without Argentine striker Paulo Dybala, with Premier League big spenders Chelsea showing an interest, while Milan may also be looking for reinforcements in attack if the highly rated Rafael Leao moves on.
Both these teams are outsiders for the Scudetto and will begin the campaign targeting a top four spot at least.
2nd September: Napoli vs Lazio
The 2023 champions meet the runners up as Napoli take on Lazio at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Rudi Garcia will take charge of I Partenopei following the decision of Luciano Spalletti to take a year off to spend time with his family; and he will task his squad with making another fast start, after doing so impressively in the Autumns of 2021 and 2022. Napoli hope star striker and 2023 Capocannoniere winner Victor Osimhen will still be their player, but Paris Saint Germain have made the Nigerian their preferred target, should Kylian Mbappe move on from the Parc des Princes.
Lazio were deserved runners up last season but they too are bracing themselves for a change in personnel as Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is reported to have agreed a deal to move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, which will earn the Sergeant 20m Euros a year. If Milinkovic-Savic goes, as expected, we could see Polish ace Piotr Zielinski move to Lazio and line up against his old friends in Naples.
16th September: Milan Derby and Juventus vs Lazio
While there are plenty of teams making a claim on the Scudetto, the Serie A 2023 betting odds will make Inter Milan marginal favourites if they make a fast start; and they will come against their city rivals in mid September. I Nerazzurri came so close to Champions League glory last season, losing a tight final against Manchester City but, with a third placed finish in Serie A, head coach Simone Inzaghi is still under pressure to deliver. Attacking midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu made the switch from AC to Inter in 2021 and the 29 year old is sure to be a key player for Inzaghi again next season.
In other pre-season Serie A 2023 news it seems that Juventus will be without any European football next season and that could make the Old Lady more dangerous in the race for the Scudetto. I Bianconeri are reported to have agreed not to take part in next season’s Europa Conference League after finishing seventh in Serie A last season. Having a ten point deduction last term meant Juventus finished outside the top four and, with financial and legal matters still to resolve, the club’s owners have agreed to step aside in Europe, which means Fiorentina, who finished eighth, will probably take the Old Lady’s place.
After winning the title nine times in a row between 2012 and 2020 Juventus, back under the management of Max Allegri, are looking for a first piece of silverware in three seasons. They may have a better chance in the Coppa Italia, but Juve will be a force in the Scudetto too.
30th September: Atalanta vs Juventus
The Old Lady has another stern test as September comes to a close when she meets Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta. La Dea finished fifth last season and will be back in European action again, while pushing for a top four place in Serie A. Atalanta have been one of the most free-scoring sides in Europe in recent seasons and are beloved by neutrals as well as their loyal fans in Bergamo.This will be a tough test for Juventus and a measure of how Atalanta will fare in 2023/24.
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