Serie A 16/17 Preview

As a first post I'd thought of previewing the league of the country I am currently visiting which is

Italia.

The main talking points that are coming out of the Serie A are: how will Napoli adapt to the loss of Higuaín; will Juventus break their own record and secure their sixth consecutive Scudetto and who can if anyone challenge for the crown.

You obviously can't have a Serie A preview with out talking about the 'Old Lady' of Italian football which is Juventus. It's been a busy summer transfer window for the club with many new additions to the fold like Miralem Pjanic; Dani Alves; Medhi Benatia and of course the big one Gonzalo Higuaín for a league record transfer fee. Are these additions just paving the way for the inevitable departure of Paul Pogba to either Real Madrid or Manchester United. Massimiliano Allegri's side will be looking to break the record the club set in the 1930's and win their sixth consecutive Scudetto title. They will need to be at the top of their game as some those teams who have been lagging behind in recent years will out to stop the side from setting further dominance in Italy.

To look at the main rivals to Juventus' crown we have to look at the those who finished in and around them last season and a maybe surprise package.

The main rivals to the crown come in the form of Napoli and Roma. Both have lost key players that made the side tick last season in Higuaín in the former and Pjanic in the latter.  Napoli have looked to Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik to maybe find the goals that Higuaín reached last season and Roma will be looking for the likes of Salah and El Shaarawy to help Dzeko and the ageing Totti to help power them over their rivals. The arguably more likely to challenge is Roma as they have an overall strong spine of a team and excellent players who have the ability to turn games, such as Radja Nainngolan who scored one of the goals of the tournament at the recent Euros and resolute defence shields in Strootman and De Rossi. The defence itself is one of the strongest in the league with an excellent full back in Florenzi who will provide attacking power as well as his defensive ability and they also have supremely strong centre backs in Rudiger and Manolas and the addition of Juan Jesus can only add depth in that area for Roma. The sight of all would be to see Francesco Totti to lift the league in what could be his last season would be a sight for all to see and his crowning achievement.

The surprise package in the Serie A this season could be from Inter Milan. They finished last season in 4th and a grand total of 24 points off of the winners, but with players in the side having an impressive Euro's in Perisic and Eder, and if they keep hold of Icardi then they could prove to be a side to watch in the coming season.

Then to finish off this preview we have to look at those sides down the other end of the table and keeping their heads above water this season. Of the Promoted sides the most likely to suffer the drop is Crotone who lack the quality and depth to stay afloat whereas some who came close last season need to greatly improve as to avoid the dreaded drop this time ride. These are Udinese, Sampdoria and Palermo, who will need to maintain strong form at home and to pick up some on the road as to avoid anxious fans come crunch time in May.

All in all I can see Juventus creating history but if they have dodgy start as they did last campaign, I doubt that the teams around them will be as forgiving this time round, especially with what will be created if they do.