After 4 Scudetti won in a row for Juventus, will it finally be the year they'll leave the throne to someone else? Or will they win again, forcing us to watch their supremacy on every other Italian side for the 33rd time in their history? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: the gap with the Serie A contenders may be thinner than any of the previous seasons after selling some key players, while Roma kept their core untouched, adding quality players that surely will help them in their chase for the championship.
There's a 99% chance that Inter won't be involved in any run for the Scudetto, once again, even though they won't have any "distraction" since they won't play in an European Competition this season, allowing them to focus more on the Serie A and the way less important Coppa Italia. I see them battling for the third place, at best, but if and only if Ausilio and Fassone manage to do an unexpected hat-trick in this last days of Calciomercato, a thing that seems highly unlikely at the moment.
Milan will have a breakout season, I'm sure. If they won't, it will be very disappointing for them. They spent almost €100 Million for the upcoming season without selling key players, so everyone is expecting big things by them and, in my opinion, they will deliver, earning at least the 5th spot in the standings. It also seems that the newly-appointed coach and former Inter player Sinisa Mihajlovic has already been able to instill his football ideas into the players, something that Filippo Inzaghi struggled with a lot last year.
I see Napoli being a contender for the title this year, even though they have an inexperienced coach like Sarri and their defense is all but rock solid. Fiorentina replaced boss too, and, for me, they will fall down in the standings a bit compared to last year, but they will have a respectable 2015/16 season nonetheless, in particular if Giuseppe Rossi will be able to contribute to the cause and will not spend too much time injured in the sidelines.
One team that made all the right moves this summer is Torino, and their smart choices will reflect on their final placement next May. Bringing two young and talented players like Zappacosta and Belotti while keeping their veteran core untouched will pay them in the long run, especially because they will be guided once again by the clever and very well prepared Ventura.
Frosinone will be the worst side of the season, but this is their first Serie A appereance and it's already an historical moment for such a small team. Bologna and Empoli will be the other two teams that will accompany them down in the Serie B, even though Atalanta and Carpi will have to be very careful, because just one misstep could lead them to the relegation.
Capocannoniere: Edin Dzeko, 25 goals
Atalanta - 17th
17th place in 2014/15, 37 points
Coach: Edi Reja
Additions: Brivio, Giorgi, Marilungo, Suagher, Almici , Canini, Kurtic, Bassi, De Roon, De Paula, Radunovic, Monachello
Departures: Frezzolini, Bianchi, Rossetti, Biava, Avramov, Emanuelson, Baselli, Zappacosta, Benalouane
Key Players: Pinilla, Estigarribia, Gomez
Key Question: Will the few changes made in the defensive department destroy their usual stability?
Bologna - 19th
4th place in 2014/15 Serie B, promoted via playoffs, 68 points
Coach: Delio Rossi
Additions: Stojanovic, Pulzeti, Rizzo, Rossettini, Diawara, Crisetig, Mirante, Brighi, Brienza, Pulgar, Destro
Departures: Krstcic, Buchel, Bessa, Laribi, Improta, Troianello, Perez, Casarini, Pazienza, Matuzalem, Coppola, G. Sansone,
Key Players: Destro, Brienza, Oikonomou
Key Question: Will Destro provide enough goals to allow Bologna to survive in the Serie A?
Carpi - 16th
Serie B Champions, 80 points
Coach: Fabrizio Castori
Additions: Ridolfi, Matos, Morrone, Brkic, Wallace, Benussi, Bollini, Wilczek, Franchini, Lazzari, Spolli, Bubnjic, Martinho, Gabriel Silva, Fedele, Gonzalez, Iniguez
Departures: Gabriel, Struna, Molina, Suagher, Laner, Modolo, Pasini, Gatto, Inglese, Maurantonio, Dossena, Brunelli
Key Players: Mbakogu, Spolli, Matos
Key Question: Can such a young, but talented, team compete with more experienced sides?
Chievo - 13th
14th place in 2014/15, 43 points
Coach: Rolando Maran
Additions: Edimar, Puccino Bellomo, Bentivoglio, Mangani, N. Rigoni, Inglese, Gatto, Gobbi, Castro, Cacciatore, Ntow, M'Poku, Pepe
Departures: Schelotto, Bardi, Botta, Biraghi, Fetfatzidis, Cofie, Pozzi, Zukanovic, Puggioni, Stoian
Key Players: M'Poku, Paloschi, Bizzarri
Key Question: Will they be a top-5 defense for the 2nd year in a row?
Empoli - 18th
15th place in 2014/15, 42 points
Coach: Marco Giampaolo (New)
Additions: Dermaku, Ronaldo, Skorupski, Krunic, Bittante, Costa, Camporese, Maiello, Zambelli
Departures: Bassi, Rugani, Vecino, Sepe, Brillante, Somma, Verdi, Valdifiori, Hysaj
Key Players: Saponara, Ronaldo, Pucciarelli
Key Question: Can they supply the technical void left after the departure of some of their best players?
Fiorentina - 6th
4th place in 2014/15, 64 points
Coach: Paulo Sousa (new)
Additions: Roncaglia, Brillante, Vecino, Hegazy, Iakovenko, Capezzi, Rebic, Fazzi, Sepe, Mario Suarez, Gilberto, Kalinic, Astori
Departures: Neto, Richards, Diamanti, Gilardino, El Hamdaoui, Pizarro, Aquilani, Lazzari, Salah, Vargas, Kurtic, Rosi, Savic, Gomez
Key Players: Gonzalo Rodriguez, Borja Valero, Ilicic
Key Question: Will Giuseppe Rossi finally help the Viola in their Champions League chase?
Frosinone - 20th
2nd place in 2014/15 Serie B, 71 points
Coach: Roberto Stellone
Additions: Frabotta, Altobelli, Leali, Chisah, Diakitè, Verde, Rosi, Pavlovic, Longo
Departures: Cosic, Pamic, Santana
Key Players: Longo, Verde, Leali
Key Question: After 2 promotions in consecutive season, will Frosinone survive in the Serie A, against much more talented teams?
Genoa - 10th
6th place in 2014/15, 59 points
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini
Additions: Pasini, Cofie, Tachtsidis, Lazovic, Gakpè, Pandev, Figueiras, Cissokho, Munoz, Ujkani, Ntcham, Gorga, Diego Capel
Departures: Niang, Ariaudo, Bergdich, Roncaglia, Edenilson, Lestienne, Bertolacci, Iago Falque
Key Players: Pandev, Perotti, Perin
Key Question: Perin's injury will affect Genoa's dreams of Europa League?
Inter - 7th
8th place in 2014/15, 55 points
Coach: Roberto Mancini
Additions: Murillo, Miranda, Kondogbia, Montoya, Schelotto, Biraghi, Taider, Biabiany, Manaj, Jovetic
Departures: Jonathan, Campagnaro, Felipe, Podolski, Palazzi, Bonazzoli, Obi, Kuzmanovic, Donkor, Puscas, Camara, Shaqiri, Kovacic (sigh)
Key Players: Icardi, Miranda, Jovetic
Key Question(s): Inter's defensive issues have been resolved once for all with the arrival of Murillo and Miranda, or there is still a lot of work to do in this department? Who will inherits Kovacic's playmaking role?
Juventus- 1st
2014/15 Serie A Champions, 87 points
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri
Additions: Rugani, Isla, Neto, Buchel, Dybala, Khedira, Madzukic, Zaza, Vadalà, Cerri
Departures: Romulo, Matri, Pepe, Tevez, Pirlo, Storari, Ogbonna, Marrone, Vidal
Key Players: Mandzukic, Pogba, Buffon
Key Question: Will Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba efficiently take on the responsibilities issued from Pirlo and Vidal's departure?
Lazio - 4th
3rd place in 2014/15, 69 points
Coach: Stefano Pioli
Additions: A. Gonzalez, Hoedt, Patric, Morrison, Kishna, Milinkovic-Savic
Departures: Ledesma, Ciani, Sculli, Novaretti, Mauri, Cavanda, Pereirinha, Tounkara, Ederson
Key Players: Biglia, Klose, De Vrij
Key Question: An almost untouched Lazio team will repeat the great performance of last season or will be penalized by the predictability of their game?
Milan - 5th
10th place in 2014/15, 52 points
Coach: Sinisa Mihajlovic (New)
Additions: Matri, Niang, Nocerino, Vergara, Ely, Bacca, Bertolacci, Luiz Adriano, J. Mauri, Romagnoli
Departures: Bocchetti, Van Ginkel, DEstro, Essien, Robinho, Muntari, Essien, Bonera, Pazzini, Rami, El Shaarawi, Albertazzi
Key Players: Bacca, Diego Lopez, Luiz Adriano
Key Question: Mihajlovic has finally brought some order to this Milan team or last year's problem will haunt the Rossoneri this season too?
Napoli - 3rd
5th place in 2014/15, 63 points
Coach: Maurizio Sarri (New)
Additions: El Kaddouri, Valdifiori, Reina, Dezi, Gabriel, Allan Chiriches, Hysaj
Departures: Colombo, Mesto, Michu, Gargano, D. Zapata, Britos, Inler
Key Players: Higuain, Gabbiadini, Hamsik
Key Question: Will the inexperienced Sarri be up to the task of bringing Napoli at least in the Champions League next season?
Palermo - 15th
11th place in 2014/15, 49 points
Coach: Giuseppe Iachini
Additions: Benali, Cassini, Trajkovski, Struna, N'GoyiGoldaniga, Hiljemark, Brugman, Colombi, El Kaoutari, Djurdjevic
Departures: Ortiz, Emerson, Dybala, Barreto, Ujkani, Makienok, Accardi, Belotti
Key Players: Vazquez, Rigoni, Sorrentino
Key Question: Who will supply to the offensive needs of this team with Dybala and Belotti gone?
Roma - 2nd
2nd place in 2014/15, 70 points
Coach: Rudi Garcia
Additions: Iago Falque, Szczesny, Salah, Dzeko, Gerson, Gyomber, Digne
Departures: Balzaretti, Curci, Spolli, Astori, Skorupski, Pellegrini, Holebas, Verde, Doumbia, Sanabria, Yanga-Mbiwa
Key Players: Dzeko, Pjanic, Castan
Key Question: Roma's weak defensive lineup will hold them from their Scudetto hopes?
Sampdoria - 9th
7th place in 2014/15, 56 points
Coach: Walter Zenga (New)
Additions: Moisander, Barreto, Bonazzoli, Krsticic, Cassani, Brignoli, Puggioni, Fernando, Zukanovic, Cassano
Departures: Acquah, Frison, Obiang, Rizzo, Bergessio, Munoz, Cacciatore, Romero, Okaka, Romagnoli
Key Players: Eder, Muriel, Cassano
Key Question(s): Will the horrible start in the Europa League qualifying round affect Sampdoria's season in a bad way? Will Walter Zenga survive as team coach at least until December?
Sassuolo - 14th
12th place in 2014/15, 49 points
Coach: Eusebio Di Francesco
Additions: Laribi, Falcinelli, Ariaudo, Gliozzi, Pellegrini, Politano, Dell'Orco, Duncan, Defrel
Departures: Brighi, Polito, Bianco, Taider, Lazarevic, Donis, Zaza, Chibsah
Key Players: Berardi, Duncan, Acerbi
Key Question: Will Sassuolo be able to outdo themselves and finish in the Top 10 this season despite Zaza's departure?
Torino - 8th
9th place in 2014/15, 54 points
Coach: Giampiero Ventura
Additions: Avelar, Acquah, Obi, Zappacosta, Baselli, Belotti
Departures: El Kaddouri, Gonzalez, Basha, Masiello, Barreto, Darmian
Key Players: Glik, Quagliarella
Key Question: A smart summer market by Torino will be enough to guarantee them an Europa League qualification?
Udinese - 11th
16th place in 2014/15, 41 points
Coach: Stefano Colantuono (New)
Additions: Faraoni, Edenilson, Adnan, D. Zapata, Marquinho
Departures: Allan, Bubnjc, Naldo, Gabriel Silva, Scuffet
Key Players: Di Natale, Domizzi, Karnezis
Key Question: After a truly disappointing season, will Colantuono bring back Udinese in the top half of the standings, helped by the 38-years-old goleador Di Natale?
Verona - 12th
13th place in 2014/15, 46 points
Coach: Andrea Mandorlini
Additions: Laner, Bianchetti, Siligardi, Romulo, Viviani, Souprayen, Pazzini, Coppola, Winck, Helander, Albertazzi
Departures: Benussi, Brivio, Agostini, Sorensen, Campanharo, Obbadi, Tachtsidis, Nico Lopez, Saviola, Fernandinho, Marques
Key Players: Toni, Pazzini, Hallfredsson
Key Question: The Toni - Pazzini cohabitation will be happy and profitable for Verona or will the two end up stomping on each other's feet?