After their win in the Milan derby over the ‘Rossoneri’ a few weeks ago, Internazionale head coach said that the Serie A title race is in Juventus’ hands, quoting: “The Serie A title race is in Juventus’ hands. After Juventus won the Scudetto eight times in a row last season, it might be considered fair of the Inter Milan manager to put the pressure on The Old Lady. Of course, Conte is trying to take pressure away from his team, naming Juve as the favorites for the Serie A title.”
With Juventus, Inter Milan and Lazio all contenders for the championship, the title race certainly hasn’t been as suspenseful as this season in a long while. Let’s have a look at what the experts say in predicting the next Serie A champions.
Lazio
The Serie A title race took another twist on Sunday the 16th of February as Lazio beat Inter Milan with 2-1 at home. Milinkovic-Savic scored the match-winning goal in the 70th minute at the Stadio Olimpico putting the Biancocelesti in second place with only 1 point less than Juventus. With this victory, Lazio cannot hide their title ambition. They are now unbeaten in the league for 20 games.
Lazio’s rise continues unabated and should now certainly be considered a title candidate. If you ask Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, he now considers Lazio favorites to win the Scudetto. “I am cheering for Lazio to win the title. We have a former Liverpool player in the title race, that is Lucas Leiva,” Klopp told Rai. He went on to say: “I’m sorry for Maurizio Sarri and Antonio Conte, but I think Lazio will be a great surprise. They are having an incredible season.”
Jurgen Klopp is not the only one placing his bets on Lazio. The club won their last Serie A title in 2000 when Sven-Goran Eriksson was their manager and the now 72-year old believes Lazio can win the title again, 20 years later. “I believe Lazio will win the Scudetto,” 1999-00 champion Eriksson told La Repubblica newspaper. “Their first XI is stronger than Inter or Juventus, with one of the best midfielders in Europe.”
Inter Milan
The highest position Inter Milan finished in the Serie A was fourth place in 2016, 2018 and 2019 since the year after their last Scudetto in 2000, when Inter were runners-up. After 10 years, Inter Milan are playing rejuvenated under Antonio Conte and finally have a goalscoring striker duo once again with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez. Inter, at this moment, have one of the most dangerous strike duos in all of Europe.
Former Samuel Eto’o believes Inter Milan will win Serie A title. The Cameroon legend is backing his former club and is convinced Internazionale will win their first Scudetto in 10 years. The Nerazzurri are yet to win the gold medal since their 2009-10 triumph which Eto’o was part of. The 38-year-old puts his trust in Antonio Conte and is certain he’s the man who can win the championship with Inter this season.
If you ask former Inter defender Giovanni Bia, ‘I Nerazzurri’ have one advantage of the other two teams: Inter were the king of the transfer window. “Inter have strong players, they had an important transfer window. They got Christian Eriksen, he has strengthened the team.” Eriksen was very public about his intention to leave and ultimately got what he wanted and is certainly going to be an extra force to reckon with at Inter Milan.
Juventus
After being the number one force in Italian football for the last eight seasons, Juve are now being challenged for the Scudetto by both Inter Milan and Lazio. Though Lazio Roma and Inter Milan are strong contenders for the title this season, Juventus are still the favorites to win the Serie A.
Juventus’ performance has often looked boring and dull, but they are currently still in the first position. Learning the complex Sarri system is a process and, normally, the team needs some time to the new style of play, often called Sarri-ball. Juventus have won the Scudetto 8 times in a row and it would be ridiculous to not consider them the front-runners.
Legend Fabio Cannavaro has gone on record saying Juventus is ‘No Longer as Dominant’ in Serie A as they used to be the previous seasons. Italy’s 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Cannavaro, and former Juve player now manages Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League. He didn’t go as far in saying Juventus will not win the Serie A but did say the following about their chances: “I am convinced that like never before in this season the title can be decided in the direct clash between Juventus and Inter on March 1.” He doesn’t consider Lazio a candidate as in his opinion the squad lacks the depth to bring home the trophy.