Serie A Outright Predictions and Tips for 2024/25

Following what was a rather dull 2023-24 season of Serie A, at least at the top end of the standings, the upcoming one promises to be more exciting as several of the seven sisters have reinforced their squads heavily. The bottom half, on the other hand, will offer drama as always and this should make for a great campaign overall.

Aside from domestic action, football fans will also be seeing more of the Italian teams as they secured five spots for the Champions League league stage. This should also give the teams in question a confidence boost, as well as more money to spend, and this could ultimately benefit the league in the long run.

In any case, let's dive into the candidates for the title, top four/five and the relegation battles respectively. It's not the easiest of Serie A seasons to predict, in fairness, but we will give it an honest go.

Who Will Win the Serie A Title?

As already mentioned, even though Inter are heavy odds favourites to win Serie A at 7/10, this season is very difficult to call. Yes, Simone Inzaghi's men have been the most consistent by far in recent campaigns and the mercato has been positive overall, but it's equally true that the rivals have made some interesting moves.

Juventus hired Thiago Motta to replace Max Allegri, whose tactics were dull to say the least, and this alone is a pretty big message to Inter. Motta, as most of you will know, was in charge of Bologna last season and it was indeed a spectacular one for them. It will take time for him to settle in fully, but the business on the transfer market warrants some optimism.

The Bianconeri are odds favourites behind Inter at 4/1, but these odds are a bit short for my liking given that it won't be a walk in the park for Motta. Not to mention that AC Milan, who finished second last season, are at 7/1 despite making some very targeted signings and replacing Stefano Pioli with Paulo Fonseca.

There are still some pieces of the puzzle missing for the Rossoneri, but they have looked confident in pre-season and we like their chances now better than last season. Napoli are just behind at 8/1 on most betting sites after hiring Antonio Conte, but anyone who has followed the manager's career will know that it could go either way.

The signing of Alessandro Buongiorno is a step in the right direction for the Partenopei, but they lost key midfielder Piotr Zielinski on a free transfer to Inter. They could also lose the prolific goalscorer Victor Osimhen to the Premier League, with rumours suggesting Romelu Lukaku (a Conte favourite) might replace him.

Having taken a look at the Scudetto candidates, it's clear some of them still have some work to do on the mercato. Provided that these operations materialise, though, we could be in for a very exciting season and one that won't let Inter run away with the title again. Not to mention that in the last five seasons, none of the sides have managed to win in two consecutive years.

Who Will Win Finish Top Four in Serie A?

Of course, it would be fair to say that the teams mentioned in the title race section will most likely end up in the top four. There are some caveats to that assumption, though, as great certainty surrounds especially Napoli. This opens the opportunity for a team like Atalanta, who have done well on the mercato, to enter the frame.

You never really know where you have Gian Piero Gasperini's side, but they have certainly asserted themselves at the top of the standings in recent years. Winning the Europa League trophy against Bayer Leverkusen, in style as well, was further proof of the team's potential and it will be a tricky fixture for all of the top teams in the league.

Roma and Daniele De Rossi have made some interesting signings this summer, such as the profile goalscorer Artem Dovbyk from Girona, but it's still difficult to imagine them ahead of the aforementioned teams. Having said that, they cannot be properly ruled out even if I personally wouldn't put a bet on them to finish in the top four.

Inter (1/25), Juventus (3/10), AC Milan (2/5) and Napoli (4/11) are the odds favourites for the top four spots but Atalanta are not far behind at 13/8. The bookies also have Roma as a serious contender at 9/4, but I would be more inclined to put money on Gasperini's side. The injuries of Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini don't help, but they have done well enough on the mercato to make up for this.

Who Will be Relegated From Serie A?

The title race may not have been close in the 2023-24 season, but the relegation battle certainly was. Empoli, who were down and out many times, somehow managed to stay up (by one point) after beating Roma in the final game of the season. The likes of Cagliari, Udinese, Lecce and Verona were also within three points of relegation, which truly says a lot.

The newly-promoted side Venezia are the odds favourites to be relegated at 8/11, arriving in the league with a far from star-studded team. Their most recent effort in the top tier, back in 2021-22, ended in disaster as they finished rock bottom. The feeling is that they will go down immediately once again but perhaps they will put up a better fight this time.

As for the rest, well, there isn't a huge difference in the odds and that just shows once again how difficult the Serie A relegation race is to predict. In addition to Venezia, the likes of Empoli (4/5), Cagliari (6/5) and Verona (11/10) are also favourites to go down. I was a bit surprised by the long odds of Parma at 3/1, though it should be noted that they have many talents.

Empoli have made some good reinforcements, such as Lorenzo Colombo, and their academy product Jacopo Fazzini has done very well in pre-season. Cagliari still have some high-profile players in their squad but the management of Davide Nicola has been rather hit-or-miss in recent years, following the amazing run to keep Crotone up years ago (those who know, know).

As for Verona, they seem to have a knack for getting out of the relegation battle even if it means doing so by just a few points. They also have a quite few good players, even if some have left this summer. Lecce, meanwhile, have odds of 10/3 and that is way too high, in my opinion, with a far from convincing manager (Luca Gotti) and a squad that doesn't exactly scream Serie A quality.

Como, just like Parma and Venezia, were promoted ahead of this season but they have made several good signings this summer. They should be able to stay out of the relegation zone, in other words.