The 2024-25 Serie A season gets underway on Saturday evening, and our writers have decided to make fools of themselves again by predicting how things will go.
The 2023-24 season was a tough one to call as even though a few had Inter to win the league, none of us called Napoli imploding to that extent nor Bologna being a top four side, while Sassuolo getting relegated was also a bit of a shock.
Despite this, the upcoming season might be even tougher to call given the sheer amount of overhaul not just at Milan but around the league in general, with the Rossoneri joined by Juve, Napoli, Lazio, Fiorentina, Bologna and others as teams who have changed coaches.
As a disclaimer to this, there is still just under two weeks of the mercato remaining at the time of publishing, which will very much feed into some of the calls that the staff have made.
Without further ado, Oliver, Anthony, Isak, Madison, Stefano, Lorenzo, Ahmed, Maxi, Ivan, Rohit, Nikita and Euan.
Scudetto winner
Oli: Inter. The core of their team remains unchanged, they have the advantage of continuity, their depth has arguably improved and the only thing stopping them is mass injuries and/or a severe drop-off. Rivals have opted for overhaul, but the nearly 20-point gap from last season is just too big.
Anthony: AC Milan. As the kids would say, Fonseca has aura.
Isak: AC Milan. Last summer, I said our team needed more time after the overhaul on the mercato and now, it’s time to shine. Inter remain the favourites still but I feel like we’re underestimated by most.
Lorenzo: Sadly Inter – I do think Milan will run them close, but I do not see Fonseca in first season lifting the league title. Juve, no chance with Motta just bedding in and having European football again, and Roma and Napoli are not good enough, two horse race again this season. I wanted to add though, if Inter do indeed win, it will be their last title for a long while, whilst their squad continues to age and debts catch-up to them.
Ahmed: Inter.
Maxi: Inter, sadly. The Nerazzuri still has the best squad, has kept their core intact and gets to continue with Simeone Inzaghi. Have a hard time seeing anyone knocking them off their perch this season.
Ivan: Milan. Whilst there is still a missing piece in the midfield I believe Inter are the only real competitors for the title, but if pre-season is anything to judge by we’ll see a completely different Milan that might actually go all the way and win it.
Rohit: Inter. Sheerly because they have retained their core (so far) and not changed their manager so I’m expecting a solid title challenge. Of course I don’t think it would be as easy as they did last season.
Nikita: Inter.
Euan: It’s very hard to look past Inter again. The gap was huge last season and whilst it might not be so wide this time, they have the best squad, Simone Inzaghi has grown as a coach and Mehdi Taremi is going to provide some valuable depth in attack.
Top seven in order
Oli: Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, Atalanta, Napoli, Bologna.
Anthony: AC Milan, Inter, Juve, Atalanta, Roma, Napoli, Lazio.
Isak: Milan, Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Napoli, Roma, Fiorentina.
Lorenzo: Inter, Milan, Roma, Juve, Atalanta, Napoli, Fiorentina.
Ahmed: Inter Milan Juve Atalanta, Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina.
Maxi: Inter, Juventus, Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Roma, Bologna.
Ivan: Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma, Atalanta, Lazio, Napoli.
Rohit: Inter, Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Juve, Roma, Lazio
Nikita: Inter, Milan, Juve, Napoli, Atalanta, Roma, Fiorentina.
Euan: Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, Atalanta, Napoli Lazio. Juventus should be in the picture again, Roma (might) have shopped well this summer, whilst Atalanta will regress slightly and will only get fifth because Napoli and Lazio seem very chaotic. The likes of Bologna, Fiorentina and Torino could be in the frame but there’s a lot of change going on at each club.
How Milan will do in the Champions League and Coppa Italia
Oli: Click the link above if you need to know about the new format, but I think Milan will finish in the 9-24th part of the big UCL league and win their play-off before going out in the last 16 to a much stronger side. In the Coppa Italia, Roma will beat us in the quarters.
Anthony: I don’t understand the new UCL format so I’m not sure. Coppa Italia probably the semi-final against Inter again.
Isak: Round of 16 in the UCL, seeing as we’re in pot 2, and semi-finals in the Coppa. I know we haven’t exactly prioritised the latter lately but maybe this is the season.
Lorenzo: We will get to the knockouts for sure in the UCL, I am also convinced we are more geared up to European knockout competitions in the way we are setting up rather than league domination. Win the Coppa! We have to win a trophy this season, and although last year we should have at least been in the final, the Coppa again represents the best chance we have at a trophy and we need to win it after so long.
Ahmed: Round of 16 in UCL, and Coppa quarter-finals.
Maxi: Semi-finals in Coppa Italia, where we are eliminated by Inter. Quarter-finals in Champions League.
Ivan: Tough to say really but it feels like with the new format it will be easier to get to the knockout stages and from then onwards it really depends if one or two important players arrive or not, but I’ll go with quarter finals.
Rohit: QF in the CL and Semis in the Coppa. Supercoppa winner.
Nikita: Quarter-final of UCL, win the Coppa.
Euan: Who on earth knows how they’ll get on in the Champions League? It is hard to imagine Milan beating enough of the elite teams to be in the group that automatically qualifies, but they should be in the top end of the teams that go into a qualifier. As for the Coppa Italia, Paulo Fonseca may be wise to take it seriously as getting a trophy under his belt would be very, very valuable. Anything less than the semi-final would be disappointing.
Relegated teams
Oli: Empoli, Venezia, Parma. All three have not done any business to this point which suggests they are well enough equipped. My picks could change by September 1, because there are about 6-7 contenders.
Anthony: In no particular order Udinese, Como, and Lecce.
Isak: Lecce, Cagliari, Venezia.
Lorenzo: Udinese, Venezia, Verona (in that order).
Ahmed: Lecce, Venezia, Verona.
Maxi: Venezia, Como, Verona. I base this on that I think these three teams have the weakest squads/managers and/or players/managers that lacks a lot in Serie A experience.
Ivan: Venezia, Como, Cagliari.
Rohit: Empoli, Venezia and Cagliari.
Nikita: Verona, Venezia, Empoli.
Euan: Empoli, Venezia, Verona. Empoli only survived by the skin of their teeth and have not strengthened, Venezia have not had a positive summer, and Verona have gradually been losing all their best players in the past year and don’t seem to be replacing them very well.
Capocannoniere winner
Oli: Lautaro Martinez, who could easily match his tally from last year and just seems to be getting better as time goes on. Annoyingly, he also renewed his contract.
Anthony: Lautaro.
Isak: Lautaro Martinez.
Lorenzo: Lautaro, but I think it will run closely between him and Dovbyk.
Ahmed: Dusan Vlahovic.
Maxi: Lautaro Martínez. The only one I think could come close is Victor Osimhen, but given the uncertainty around him I will cast my vote on Lautaro.
Ivan: Lautaro.
Rohit: Lautaro Martinez.
Nikita: Lautaro.
Euan: It has to be Lautaro Martinez. He strolled to it last season and now has more competition for his spot with Taremi at the club. Victor Osimhen either won’t be there or will be banished by Antonio Conte/Aurelio De Laurentiis. Alvaro Morata will score goals but likely not at the same rate as Lautaro, and Dusan Vlahovic falls into the same category.
Milan top scorer
Oli: Pulisic. Him playing more in the No.10 role and operating in space will help him even more.
Anthony: Leao.
Isak: I don’t think his main trait will be goals, more so what he adds to the team as a package, but I will still say Alvaro Morata. I think we’re gonna have many different goalscorers this season.
Lorenzo: Mr X! But realistically, at the time of writing Morata is the only proper CF we have, therefore logic would state it will be him (predicting 17 goals in the league) but Pulisic will be close to him.
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Alvaro Morata. Unlike many, I think this is a very good signing. Especially for €13m. Think he’ll be very useful. This, I award him due to the lack of other alternatives, though. The main competitors are Leão and Pulisic, but I can’t see any of them get more goals than Morata. I hope Leão wins this, though.
Ivan: Morata.
Rohit: Leao.
Nikita: Leao.
Euan: Morata, although with Fonseca’s style and Morata’s style, Milan’s goals should be shared round a lot this season. The likes of Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and even Samuel Chukwueze will be in the frame, but it should be Morata.
Milan most assists
Oli: Alvaro Morata. I really think his link-up play will be very useful and that he will get the best out of Leao, Chukwueze, Pulisic and even Reijnders.
Anthony: Morata.
Isak: This is a very tough one, but maybe in the No.10 role Christian Pulisic can get the most.
Lorenzo: I can also see Morata here, but I am going to push the boat out and say – Chuk! Fonseca seems to trust him and he is very dangerous in the final third.
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Christian Pulisic. Out of Milan’s offensive players I think Pulisic is the most creatively gifted. He has a great ability to either cross or find pockets of space to utilise in the box. If he’s to be played in a more central role, I expect him to drift a lot into the half-spaces to set up chances and passes in behind the opposition backline.
Ivan: Leao.
Rohit: Pulisic.
Nikita: Leao.
Euan: Christian Pulisic. He got nine assists last season and if he does move into a more central role with Morata ahead of him and plenty of space to run into, he could rack up a lot of assists very quickly. Leao will be his primary competition.
Milan’s player of the season
Oli: Theo Hernandez. Fonseca loves putting emphasis on full-backs, and the Frenchman will benefit from this with an excellent year.
Anthony: Pulisic.
Isak: Tijjani Reijnders. I’m a big fan of his and nothing suggests that his trajectory will go down.
Lorenzo: I am going to say Rafa, I think he will continue his perhaps on the face if it ‘low scoring’ but I feel his consistency will improve and if he can improve that, he is our best player and therefore see him just being solid most matches (if fit!).
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Christian Pulisic. Think Fonesca’s style of play will fit him very well and that we will see even more of him in a central role, when he isn’t as isolated on a wing. More time on the ball will show us even more of what he’s capable of.
Ivan: Leao.
Rohit: Leao.
Euan: Pulisic again. The way that Milan hope to play under Fonseca should suit the American a lot. He is so settled and confident. It wouldn’t be a shock if he starts a little slowly given his busy summer, but Pulisic should shine again.
Milan’s breakout performer
Oli: Samuel Chukwueze. It feels like a bit of an easy answer but a valid one given his first season struggles. If it has to be a real breakout, then Mattia Liberali.
Anthony: Chukwueze.
Isak: I suspect the others will say Mattia Liberali, so for that reason I will say Alex Jimenez. But the breakout label is tough, it could easily be Samuel Chukwueze.
Lorenzo: Again at time of writing, the window is still open, but I am going to say Pavlovic. We NEED more quality performances at the back and after the first few game week’s when Pavlovic finally gets bedded in the team, I don’t see him ever leaving our strongest 11 (if he stays fit) and therefore, he will be the breakout player, just putting in solid defensive performances both domestically and in Europe.
Ahmed: Musah.
Maxi: Mattia Liberali. The 17-year-old has been ridiculously good in pre-season, especially for his age and experience. Liberali has a mesmerising technique and plays with a maturity way beyond his years. Think he will force his way into Milan’s senior squad and take Serie A by storm.
Ivan: Tough, because there aren’t that many new arrivals or youth players expected to have a big part in the senior squad. I’d go with someone like Pavlovic who could really help stabilise the performance at the back, something which Milan had plenty of issues last season, but it can be also someone like Musah who might enjoy life under Fonseca and start contributing a lot more this season.
Rohit: Chukwueze.
Nikita: Chukwueze.
Euan: Tijjani Reijnders. He had a positive first season at the club but did leave a little to be desired. Keeping the ball for longer spells under Fonseca should suit the Dutchman and with that first season out of the way, he could be a lot more effective overall than he was under Stefano Pioli.
