Introduction
Juventus have tasked club legend Andrea Pirlo with leading them to an unprecedented 10th consecutive Serie A title this season. The Bianconeri finished just a point clear of an ambitious Inter Milan side last term, and the board responded by sacking Maurizio Sarri. This is Pirlo’s first managerial role and he has been thrown straight at the deep end.
Inter smell blood. Former Juventus manager Antonio Conte is building a formidable squad in Milan, and they will feel quietly confident of toppling the champions this time around. Lazio have also impressed over the last 12 months, while AC Milan were on fire towards the end of the 2019/20 season. Atalanta have established themselves as the most exciting team in Italy, and you can never write off Napoli and Roma, so we should be in for an exhilarating title race.
There will also be a great deal of drama and intrigue at the bottom of the table. Benevento, Crotone and Spezia have been promoted to the top flight, and they all look like cannon fodder, but they will fight for their lives. Teams like Udinese, Genoa, Bologna and Cagliari could be therefore forgiven for approaching the season with a degree of trepidation.
The leading bookmakers have launched a wealth of exciting outright bets on the upcoming Serie A season. Options include league winner, league winner without Juventus, top four, top 10, relegation and top goal scorer. These odds will change over the course of the season, so we recommend that you bookmaker our Serie A odds page to find the latest and most attractive prices on a regular basis. Read on for a preview of all the key Serie A teams and their chances of flourishing this season.
Who won Serie A in 2019/20?
Juventus won Serie A for the ninth time in a row after finishing a point clear of Inter Milan in 2019/20. They won 26 games, drew five times and lost seven matches. However, they wrapped up the title with two games to spare and fielded a weakened team during their last two rounds of fixtures.
How many Serie A games are there in a season?
There are 38 games in a Serie A season. There are 20 teams in the league, and each club plays the other 19 teams home and away. Serie A normally has a lengthy winter break, but the teams will be given just one week off in 2019/20 due to the later start to the season.
Who has won the most league titles in Italy?
Juventus have won the Serie A title a record 36 times. They were first crowned Italian champions in 1931, and they won their 36th title in 2020. AC Milan and Inter Milan are the next most successful teams in Serie A history, with 18 titles apiece.
Who was the best player in Serie A in 2019/20?
Paulo Dybala beat Juventus teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to be named Serie A Player of the Year for the 2019/20 season. The Argentinean forward provided 11 goals 11 assists during a standout campaign, while he also impressed with his general flair and prowess on the ball.
Serie A at a glance
Serie A 2020/21 Season Outright Odds
Juventus are the odds-on favourites to be crowned champions of Italy for the 10th time in a row this season. Pirlo has a number of world-class players at his disposal, and the Bianconeri have dominated Italian football for many years, so it is easy to see why they are the favourites in the Serie A winner odds. However, this is a time of great upheaval for Juventus.
Their rivals are emboldened. Inter have invested heavily in their squad over the past couple of years, while the likes of Atalanta, AC Milan and Lazio all look impressive, so it is unlikely to be a one-horse race. You can therefore find attractive league winner odds on Juventus if you think they have what it takes to make it 10 titles on the bounce.
The race for the top four also looks wide open. There are some great Serie A top four odds available on heavyweights like Atalanta and Lazio, and the “without Juventus” market also looks intriguing. We have scoured the best betting sites for Serie A outright odds and compiled market leading prices for you to take advantage of.
Team | Winner Odds | Top Four Finish Odds |
---|---|---|
Juventus | -110 | -1800 |
Inter | +200 | -800 |
Napoli | +1200 | -138 |
Atalanta | +1200 | -125 |
Lazio | +2000 | +110 |
AC Milan | +2200 | +150 |
Roma | +4000 | +300 |
Fiorentina | +30000 | +4900 |
Sassuolo | +75000 | +10000 |
Bologna | +100000 | +10000 |
Torino | +150000 | +10000 |
Verona | +200000 | +15000 |
Parma | +200000 | +15000 |
Sampdoria | +200000 | +150000 |
Cagliari | +300000 | +25000 |
Udinese | +300000 | +25000 |
Genoa | +300000 | +25000 |
Crotone | +450000 | +50000 |
Spezia | +450000 | +50000 |
Benevento | +450000 | +50000 |
These odds were compiled from Bet365, William Hill and 888 Sport, three of the leading sports betting sites for Serie A outright odds and match odds. We offer competitive bonuses on each of these sites at ThePlayer.com.
Quick Serie A facts
Serie A TV & Streaming Guide
In Italy, Sky Sports and DAZN share the rights to broadcast Serie A fixtures. You can also enjoy live streaming of several fixtures by downloading Now TV. UK punters can turn to Premier Sports to stream Serie A. You can also watch live Serie A games at Bet365 if you have a funded account or you have placed a bet in the past 24 hours. ESPN shows Serie A games in the United States.
You can check out our Serie A schedule to find out which fixtures loom large on the horizon, and then view the Serie A results and the league table. Our expert tipsters will preview the big games in Serie A, and offer predictions and betting tips. We also provide statistics to aid your betting decisions and an odds comparison tool to help you find the best value.
Serie A 2020/21 Season Preview
Will Pirlo Lead Juventus to Another Title?
Juventus signalled the end of an era when they parted ways with Massimiliano Allegri in the summer of 2019. The strict disciplinarian inherited a team that had won three titles in a row under Antonio Conte, and he turned them into an unstoppable force in Italian football. They won Serie A in each of his five seasons at the helm, and they also secured four Coppa Italia titles.
However, he could not quite manage to deliver European glory. Allegri led Juventus to two Champions League finals, but they lost to Barcelona in 2015 and then suffered an agonising defeat to Real Madrid in 2017. The club decided it was time to start afresh, and they turned to former Napoli and Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri.
It marked a substantial change in their approach on the pitch. Juventus’ titles under Allegri were won on the back of disciplined defending, hard work and solidity across the pitch. Sarri is a completely different manager. His teams have long been renowned for playing attacking football, taking risks and retaining possession as much as possible. He tried to completely overhaul the philosophy at Juventus in a very short space of time, and the results were mixed.
Juventus conceded 43 goals last season. That was their highest tally in a decade. However, they were often disjointed going forwards too, and four of their rivals outscored them. They looked in grave danger of being overhauled by Lazio or Inter last term, but a Herculean effort from Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala after the restart saw them just about clinch the title.
Sarri was swiftly axed, and Andrea Pirlo was parachuted in. He was their star midfielder under Conte, and he enjoyed a remarkably successful playing career, but he has no managerial experience whatsoever. Juventus are clearly hoping he can mimic the success enjoyed by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, but the jury is out. He will go head-to-head with the experienced Conte this season, and it will be thrilling to see if he can get the better of his former boss.
Pirlo has inherited a talented but ageing squad. Ronaldo remains a force of nature, but he is 35 years old now. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, the defensive stalwarts that carried Juventus to multiple titles under Conte and Allegri, are now 36 and 33 respectively. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is 42. The club is known as the Old Lady of Italian football, and it is starting to take that nickname literally. Bonucci, Chiellini and Buffon all played with Pirlo, so he knows what they are capable of, but they may not have the legs to carry Juventus to glory this season.
There is a sense that the younger players are not up to scratch. Buffon was regularly preferred to Wojciech Szczesny last season. Former Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt flopped. Pirlo may have to turn to his old comrades and ask them to produce one more heroic effort to propel Juventus to their 10th consecutive title.
There is talk of them signing 33-year-old Luis Suarez from Barcelona, but he would not exactly bring youthful exuberance to the club. Juventus will need new signing Arthur to hit the ground running, while Adrien Rabiot will need to remain fit and Rodrigo Bentancur, Merih Demiral, loanee Weston McKennie and Alex Sandro must all excel in order to provide this team with enough energy to win the title.
Can Conte Break His Former Club’s Dominance?
Inter delivered a real statement of intent by luring Antonio Conte to the San Siro last summer. They then spent €70 million on Romelu Lukaku and set about trying to dethrone Juventus as champions of Italy. Inter ultimately fell short, but they can take plenty of positives from the 2019/20 campaign.
They scored more goals than Juventus last season, and conceded fewer. They lost just four games over the course of the campaign, compared to seven defeats for Juve, and they finished the season with three wins on the bounce. The players are now comfortable playing in Conte’s 3-5-2 system, and there is a great deal of squad depth in every position.
Inter probably have the most valuable squad in Italian football right now. January signing Christian Eriksen will expect more game time in 2020/21, and Archaf Hakimi looks like a great addition.
Dynamic forward Lautaro Martinez has been linked with a move away from the club, but he remains an Inter player, which should give his teammates a boost. He formed a devastating strike partnership with Lukaku towards the end of last season, and they can blaze a trail of destruction across Serie A in 2020/21. Inter’s players must overcome fatigue after their Europa League exploits – they went all the way to the final, only to lose 3-2 to Sevilla on August 21 – but Conte has a large squad, with plenty of youngsters ready to come into the starting 11.
The Inter odds to win Serie A are +200 and that price will appeal to many punters. Conte is a serial winner, and he has a fantastic group of players, so they could capitalise on the state of flux at Juventus by soaring to the summit of Serie A for the first time since 2010. You can alternatively find -138 at Betfair on Inter to win Serie A without Juventus, and that might appeal more than the winner odds to some bettors.
Serie A - odds to win the league
Battle for the Top Spots
What Can We Expect from Napoli This Season?
Napoli fans endured a torrid campaign last time out. Club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis laid into his players in the wake of a Champions League draw with Red Bull Salzburg, and he ordered them to attend an unscheduled training camp instead of returning home to their families. They refused, and De Laurentiis decided to fine them. The fallout was spectacular.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti left the club, the players were disgruntled and a dreadful run of form saw them slump down to the bottom half of the table. However, Gennaro Gattuso eventually managed to steady the ship after replacing Ancelotti. Napoli ended up beating Juventus in the Coppa Italia final, and they finished seventh in the table.
If they maintain that form, they could challenge for a top four place once again. They still boast an abundance of talent within their ranks, including Fabian Ruiz, Lorenzo Insigne, Piotr Zielinski, Dries Mertens and Konstantinos Manolas. They broke the bank to sign the exciting Victor Osimhen from Lille, and they should be dangerous going forward. However, Kalidou Koulibaly could leave, which would significantly weaken the Napoli defence, and the 8/11 on them finishing in the top four does not look particularly appealing right now.
Will Atalanta Remain the Great Entertainers of Serie A?
Atalanta are now firmly established as the most entertaining team in Italian football. They throw caution to the wind, push men forward and try to score as many goals as possible. This approach leaves gaping holes at the back, and they regularly concede, meaning they are involved in many high-scoring thrillers.
Last season, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men banged in 98 goals, which was 18 more than Inter and 22 more than Juventus. However, they also conceded 48 times, so they ended up finishing five points behind the champions.
Yet there are plenty of reasons for Atalanta fans to be cheerful. They have now secured back-to-back finishes in the top four. They went all the way to the Champions League quarter-finals this summer, and they were desperately unlucky to lose to eventual runners-up PSG.
Atalanta have sold Timothy Castagne to Leicester, but the majority of the squad remains intact, and we can expect more high energy displays from them in 2020/21. Papu Gomez had the most assists of any player in Serie A last season, and he remains the star of the show, but players like Duvan Zapata are also really exciting. Bet365 is offering -125 on Atalanta to finish in the top four, and that looks very tempting.
Will Lazio Shake Off the Disappointment of Last Season’s Meltdown?
Lazio looked poised to secure an unlikely triumph before Serie A was suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis last season. They were on a 22-game unbeaten streak in domestic competition, they had just beaten their key title rivals and Ciro Immobile was scoring goals for fun. They went 2-0 up against Atalanta on their first game after the restart, but then slumped to a 3-2 defeat, and that proved the catalyst for a slide down the table.
Simone Inzaghi’s men ended up losing six of their 12 games after Serie A resumed in June, and they finished fourth. Now it is time to lick their wounds, regroup and try to recapture the magic they produced at the start of 2020. Forward Vedat Muriqi has arrived to provide support for Immobile up front, and the brilliant Sergej Milinkovic-Savic remains a Lazio player, despite being linked with a move away from the club for the past four decades or so. Lazio are priced at +150 with Bet365 to secure a top four place, and that looks like a really interesting bet.
Can Zlatan Inspire AC Milan to Greatness?
Leonine striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined AC Milan from LA Galaxy in June, and he sparked an immediate upswing in results. He is now 38 years old, but he retains the ability to batter the opposition into submission. The Swedish forward also provides genuine leadership within the dressing room, and his teammates have improved significantly since his arrival.
AC Milan were lingering in mid-table when Serie A resumed in June following a three-month hiatus. They took nine draws, three wins and zero defeats from their subsequent 12 games and surged up to sixth in the standings. It was a phenomenal effort from a real sleeping giant of Italian football, and it suggested they could be a force to be reckoned with in 2020/21.
Ibrahimovic dominates the headlines due to the sheer force of his personality, but this AC Milan team is bursting with quality, from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and centre-back Alessio Romagnoli to midfielders Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessié.
There is perhaps a lack of firepower after Suso moved to Sevilla and André Silva went to Eintracht Frankfurt, but AC Milan will be dangerous if Ibrahimovic can pick up where he left off last season. He hit seven goals and provided four assists in the final nine games of the season, and his presence gives Milan a chance in any game.
Serie A outrights - without Juventus
The Best of the Rest
Can Roma Challenge for a Top Four Place?
Roma roared back to the upper echelons of Italian football when they secured a runner-up finish in 2014. They were second the following season, then third, and they took the runner-up spot again in 2017. The Giallorossi finished third in 2018 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, so their fans had every reason to feel optimistic.
However, they slumped down to sixth in the 2018/19 season, and they could only manage a fifth placed finish last term. Yet there were some signs of progress towards the end of the campaign. Roma finished the season with seven wins and a draw from their final eight games, including a 6-1 victory over Spal and a 3-1 win against Juventus.
Roma have since signed Pedro from Chelsea and made Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s move permanent. They have relied on the goals of Edin Dzeko in recent years, but the Roma captain is now 34, and his teammates will have to share the load. There is a great deal of quality in the Roma squad, particularly in Lorenzo Pellegrino, Nicolo Zanolo, Javier Pastore and Justin Kluivert, but Roma do not look as strong as their rivals for a top four finish.
Will There be a Surprise Package in Serie A?
Sassuolo, Verona, Fiorentina, Parma and Torino are among the teams vying to surprise everyone by battling for a top six place this season. Fiorentina look like the most intriguing team from that bunch. They ended up 10th last season, but they finished with back-to-back wins and appeared to be gaining momentum.
They have since completed a deal to sign Sofyan Amrabat from Verona. He was the breakout star of the 2019/20 season, as Verona defied expectations to finish ninth, and he should significantly bolster the Fiorentina midfield. This team is bursting with exciting young talent, including Federico Chiesa, Nikola Milenkovic, Gaetano Castrovilli, Dusan Vlahovic and Patrick Cutrone.
Betting on Fiorentina could be a profitable enterprise this season. The sportsbook Asian handicap markets on La Viola are often appealing. You can give them a decent handicap against the weaker teams in Serie A, and a plus handicap against the heavyweights.
Top four odds
Relegation & Best Goalscorer
How will the Relegation Battle Unfold?
Newly promoted teams Benevento, Crutone and Spezia will be excited to return to the top tier of Italian football for the 2020/21 season. However, they all look like real minnows compared to the teams they will be playing against.
In England, clubs enjoy a £130 million windfall when they secure promotion to the Premier League. They can then go out and spend a fortune in a bid to avoid relegation. However, that is not the case in Italy. Many of the teams that reach Serie A drop straight back down due to a lack of finances.
Benevento were hopeless in the 2017/18 Serie A season. They lost 29 out of 38 games, and betting against them was extremely lucrative. Crotone were also relegated that season, but they have both yo-yoed back up to the top flight after just one year in the wilderness.
Crotone’s Simeon Nwankwo was the highest goal scorer and the best player in Serie B last season. He will be key to their chances of beating the drop. They have also made some shrewd summer signings, so they look reasonably well placed to avoid relegation.
Benevento finished 18 points clear of Crotone to win Serie B, and they have since bought Gianluca Lapadula from Genoa. However, manager Filipo Inzaghi has a poor record in Serie A, and betting against Benevento looks really appealing this season.
Spezia will play in Serie A for the first time in their history. They look like lambs to the slaughter. All three newly promoted teams are odds-on to be relegated, and they all look as if they could fall straight back down to Serie B. The likes of Genoa, Sampdoria, Bologna, Udinese and Cagliari could all be sucked into the relegation battle, but Udinese look the most vulnerable if one of the newly promoted teams defies expectations.
Who will Seize the Capocannoniere?
The Capocannoniere is awarded to the player that scores the most goals in Serie A each season. Lazio’s Ciro Immobile seized the honour last season after firing in a record-equalling 36 goals. He finished five goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo and 13 ahead of Romelu Lukaku.
Ronaldo will be desperate to win the Golden Boot in 2020/21, as he loves nothing more than clinching individual glory. However, a Juventus player has not been named Capocannoniere since Alessandro Del Piero in 2010. They have dominated Italian football since then, but their key strength has been their defensive prowess. Ronaldo is now 35, and he may not play every week next season, particularly if there are Champions League games on the horizon. Lukaku has to share the limelight with Lauturo Martinez at Inter, so he looks like a risky bet with the sportsbooks. Napoli’s Arkadiusz Miluk is too injury prone, and Edin Dzeko has regressed at Roma. The most interesting options could be Immobile at 7/1 and Duvan Zapata at 10/1 with Betfair. Zapata should have plenty of chances in an attacking Atalanta side, and he could rival Immobile in this market. Betfair is offering a quarter of the odds on the place if you go each-way on this market. You would therefore still earn a handsome profit on either Immobile or Zapata if they finished second or third in next season’s goal scoring charts.
Historical Data
There have been a lot of Juventus wins recently, but they actually started out with a fairly decent streak as well. The Serie A is now close to a century old, and with a few exceptions, the league has been contested every year since 1929. Don’t recognise the name “Ambrosiana”? Well, that’s what Inter used to be called!
Season | Champion | Runner-up |
---|---|---|
2019-20 | Juventus | Inter Milan |
2018-19 | Juventus | Napoli |
2017-18 | Juventus | Napoli |
2016-17 | Juventus | AS Roma |
2015-16 | Juventus | Napoli |
2014-15 | Juventus | AS Roma |
2013-14 | Juventus | AS Roma |
2012-13 | Juventus | Napoli |
2011-12 | Juventus | AC Milan |
2010-11 | AC Milan | Inter Milan |
2009-10 | Inter Milan | AS Roma |
2008-09 | Inter Milan | Juventus |
2007-08 | Inter Milan | AS Roma |
2006-07 | Inter Milan | AS Roma |
2005-06 | Inter Milan | AS Roma |
2004-05 | [none] | revoked |
2003-04 | AC Milan | AS Roma |
2002-03 | Juventus | Inter Milan |
2001-02 | Juventus | AS Roma |
2000-01 | AS Roma | Juventus |
1999-2000 | Lazio | Juventus |
1998-99 | AC Milan | Lazio |
1997-98 | Juventus | Inter Milan |
1996-97 | Juventus | Parma |
1995-96 | AC Milan | Juventus |
1994-95 | Juventus | Lazio |
1993-94 | AC Milan | Juventus |
1992-93 | AC Milan | Inter Milan |
1991-92 | AC Milan | Juventus |
1990-91 | Sampdoria | AC Milan |
1989-90 | Napoli | AC Milan |
1988-89 | Inter Milan | Napoli |
1987-88 | AC Milan | Napoli |
1986-87 | Napoli | Juventus |
1985-86 | Juventus | AS Roma |
1984-85 | Verona | Torino |
1983-84 | Juventus | AS Roma |
1982-83 | AS Roma | Juventus |
1981-82 | Juventus | Fiorentina |
1980-81 | Juventus | AS Roma |
1979-80 | Inter Milan | Juventus |
1978-79 | AC Milan | Perugia |
1977-78 | Juventus | Lanerossi |
1976-77 | Juventus | Torino |
1975-76 | Torino | Juventus |
1974-75 | Juventus | Napoli |
1973-74 | Lazio | Juventus |
1972-73 | Juventus | AC Milan |
1971-72 | Juventus | AC Milan |
1970-71 | Inter Milan | AC Milan |
1969-70 | Cagliari | Inter Milan |
1968-69 | Fiorentina | Cagliari |
1967-68 | AC Milan | Napoli |
1966-67 | Juventus | Inter Milan |
1965-66 | Inter Milan | Bologna |
1964-65 | Inter Milan | AC Milan |
1963-64 | Bologna | Inter Milan |
1962-63 | Inter Milan | Juventus |
1961-62 | AC Milan | Inter Milan |
1960-61 | Juventus | AC Milan |
1959-60 | Juventus | Fiorentina |
1958-59 | AC Milan | Fiorentina |
1957-58 | Juventus | Fiorentina |
1956-57 | AC Milan | Fiorentina |
1955-56 | Fiorentina | AC Milan |
1954-55 | AC Milan | Udinese |
1953-54 | Inter Milan | Juventus |
1952-53 | Inter Milan | Juventus |
1951-52 | Juventus | AC Milan |
1950-51 | AC Milan | Inter Milan |
1949-50 | Juventus | AC Milan |
1948-49 | Torino | Inter Milan |
1947-48 | Torino | AC Milan |
1946-47 | Torino | Juventus |
1945-46 | Torino | Juventus |
1944-45 | Suspended | World War II |
1942-43 | Torino | Livorno |
1941-42 | AS Roma | Torino |
1940-41 | Bologna | Ambrosiana 'Inter' |
1939-40 | Ambrosiana 'Inter' | Bologna |
1938-39 | Bologna | Torino |
1937-38 | Ambrosiana 'Inter' | Juventus |
1936-37 | Bologna | Lazio |
1935-36 | Bologna | AS Roma |
1934-35 | Juventus | Ambrosiana 'Inter' |
1933-34 | Juventus | Ambrosiana 'Inter' |
1932-33 | Juventus | Ambrosiana 'Inter' |
1931-32 | Juventus | Bologna |
1930-31 | Juventus | AS Roma |
1929-30 | Ambrosiana SS | Genova 1893 |