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Serie A is back! One of the most engaging leagues in world soccer returns this weekend as Napoli will try to defend their title across 38 matchdays while Inter, AC Milan and others hope to compete in the upcoming season. American star Christian Pulisic is looking to have an exciting season at his club despite not playing European tournaments, new star talents arrived in the league and the squads are as competitive as ever.

Serie A kicks off this weekend as some of the world's biggest cups battle for the Scudetto, and you can catch the action all season long on Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network.

Here are our staff picks for the upcoming Serie A campaign.


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James Benge
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Roger Gonzalez
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Chuck Booth
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Pardeep Cattry
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Francesco Porzio
Champions Inter Juventus Napoli InterNapoli 
Runners-up AC Milan InterAC Milan NapoliInter
Player of the season Lautaro Martinez, Inter Jonathan David, Juventus Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli Kevin De Bruyne, NapoliChristian Pulisic, AC Milan
Surprise team Fiorentina AS Roma Como Como Como 
Biggest disappointment JuventusNapoli Inter Atalanta Atalanta 
Top scorer Lautaro Martinez, Inter (21 goals)Jonathan David, Juventus (22 goals) Artem Dovbyk, Roma (20 goals) Lautaro Martinez, Inter (20 goals) Lautaro Martinez, Inter (25 goals)
Best signing Wesley, Roma Jonathan David, Juventus Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli Kevin De Bruyne, NapoliSamuele Ricci, AC Milan
Worst signing Jonathan David, Juventus Noa Lang, Napoli Leon Bailey, AS Roma Leon Bailey, AS Roma Leon Bailey, AS Roma
Top four Inter, AC Milan, Roma, Napoli Juventus, Inter, Roma, Napoli Napoli, AC Milan, Roma, Juventus Inter, Napoli, AC Milan, Juventus Napoli, Inter, AC Milan, Juventus
Relegated teams Verona, Cremonese, Pisa Cremonese, Pisa, Lecce Cagliari, Cremonese, Verona Cremonese, Verona, PisaCremonese, Lecce, Pisa

Why Napoli will win the league

Antonio Conte's team is the most likely side to take down the 2025-26 Serie A title. After winning their fourth Scudetto last season, the Azzurri managed to make some key signings that make them the frontrunners to win the league, especially because all of their competitors made big changes, starting with their managers. Conte meanwhile decided to stay at Napoli. Inter replaced Simone Inzaghi with Cristian Chivu, while AC Milan started a new chapter under Massimiliano Allegri and Juventus are still restructuring the team with Igor Tudor after sacking Thiago Motta before the end of the 2024-25 season. Despite the injury of Romelu Lukaku, who will miss at least three months of action, the Azzurri are expected to cope with his absence with another signing before the end of the summer transfer window, and have already signed Lorenzo Lucca from Udinese for around $30 million.

Why Como will be the surprise team

After a strong first season back in the first division under Cesc Fabregas, Como spent more than $100 million this summer, building a lot of expectations around a project that aims to become one of the most interesting around Europe. Como were able to keep the former Barcelona and Arsenal legend despite the strong interest coming from Bayer Leverkusen and Inter this summer, and want to start a new cycle at the club with Fabregas. The club signed talents like Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb, Jesus Rodriguez from Real Betis, and have, so far, been able to keep Nico Paz at the club and signed experienced players such as Spanish striker Alvaro Morata, creating an interesting mix of experienced and talented players for the future.

The best signing will be Samuele Ricci for Milan

AC Milan have made some interesting signings so far this summer, balancing out the loss of some key players, such as Tijjani Reijnders who joined Manchester City for around $70 million and Theo Hernandez who signed for Al-Hilal this summer. The Rossoneri decided to start a new chapter under Massimiliano Allegri who made his comeback at the club and signed three midfielders: Luka Modric as a free agent, Ardon Jashari from Club Brugge and Samuele Ricci from Torino. The Italian midfielder already made his debut as a starter in the first official match of the season, the Coppa Italia play-off against Bari and he's expected to immediately become a key player under Allegri's management.

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The worst signing will be Leon Bailey 

Things are not looking good for Leon Bailey at AS Roma as the Jamaican winger signed for the Giallorossi this summer and the same day he was announced he suffered a muscular injury that will kept him unavailable for at least three weeks, missing the start of the season under the new coach, Gian Piero Gasperini. Knowing the Italian manager and how he worked at Genoa and Atalanta in his coaching career so far, his tactical ideas might be difficult to digest for a winger and Bailey's absence in the first weeks of training may have huge consequences on his impact at the club and in Serie A.

The top four will be: Napoli, Inter, AC Milan, Juventus

Napoli and Inter will again race to win the Serie A title this season, and the Azzurri coached by Antonio Conte are expected to be the leading candidates for the win. The other teams will race for a Champions League spot and AC Milan this season have a big advantage, since they are not playing in European tournaments. Allegri, in his first season at the club, can focus on one match per week, such as Napoli did last year, increasing their possibilities to qualify for a Champions League spot next season. Juventus are also expected to qualify, but they will have to fight against many other teams like AS Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Bologna, Atalanta and Como as well.