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Serie A Power Rankings: Inter start on top, AC Milan back on track; Fiorentina set to surprise
Serie A is finally back! The 2026-2027 Serie A season will kick off this weekend in Italy, with Inter, the 2025-2026 Scudetto winners, looking to defend the title in the new season. AC Milan, their cross-city rivals, made some key signings in the summer after replacing the coach and the whole club hierarchy after the disappointing end of the last campaign, and appointed former Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim to lead the new cycle. Six teams replaced their coaches, including Napoli, which saw Antonio Conte leave the Azzurri after two seasons and appointed former AC Milan and Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri. Let's take a look at our power rankings ahead of the upcoming season:
The 2025-2026 Serie A champions are still the favorites to replicate the success of the past season. They lost a key player in Denzel Dumfries, who joined Real Madrid, but replaced him with Djed Spence and signed other players like John Stones and Curtis Jones who can help Cristian Chivu win another Scudetto. Overall, they have a stronger squad compared to the one that won the most recent Serie A title.
The Rossoneri spent big money in the summer to support American Christian Pulisic and signed striker Goncalo Ramos from PSG who became the highest paid player in the history of the club, after Gerry Cardinale's side spent over $70 million to sign the Portuguese striker. On top of him, they also signed Mario Gila from Lazio for around $20 million and Diego Moreira from Strasbourg for more than $60 million. However, the biggest decision was to appoint Ruben Amorim to replace Massimiliano Allegri, who failed to bring the Rossoneri back to Champions League soccer.
It didn't take long time for Allegri to find a new club as Napoli decided to hire him after Antonio Conte's decision to leave the Azzurri ahead of the summer. Allegri, who has signed a three-year deal with the Italian club, will be expected to improve Napoli's performances, particularly in the Champions League, as demanded by club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. Napoli have a strong squad, but last season their campaign was severely affected by injuries.
The side coached by Gian Piero Gasperini clinched a Champions League spot at the end of a successful campaign, but it will now be much more complicated to replicate the same success. They have a chance to make a deep run, and the roster is also strong enough to achieve the targets requested by the fan base and the ownership. Winning a trophy, maybe the Coppa Italia, could be a major milestone for the new project, now entering its second year, led by the former Atalanta manager.
Como were one of the biggest surprises of the 2025–26 season but maybe not entirely unexpectedly. Their fourth-place finish and historic qualification for the Champions League were remarkable, but the team led by Cesc Fabregas wants more. They re-signed Nico Paz from Real Madrid for $60 million, arguably the most important Serie A signing of the summer. The only doubt about them is how they will deal with the two major competitions at the same time, but watch out for them, once again.
Despite confirming head coach Luciano Spalletti for at least another season, everything has changed again at the club with a new CEO in Giovanni Carnevali, an experienced Italian director who can lead the new cycle. Some of the signings were interesting, such as the one of Kerim Alajbegovic from Bayer Leverkusen or the one of Randal Kolo Muani from PSG. Others, like the one of Guglielmo Vicario on loan from Tottenham as the new starting goalkeeper, are not what we expected.
I strongly believe they will be the surprise of the season, after risking relegation last year. Former Tottenham and Juventus director Fabio Paratici is leading the sporting project and has signed multiple talents, starting with Franco Mastantuono on loan from Real Madrid, and appointed a young talented coach like Fabio Grosso, who previously coached Sassuolo in the Italian first division. Fiorentina might finally be back.
Nothing against the club and the job they've done over the past years, but when you sign a coach like Maurizio Sarri you can expect your team to perform more on the long term, missing out some key points in the first part of the season. This is why I think they can aim for European soccer, but it won't be that easy.
Another team I think will do well. Under Daniele De Rossi's management, Genoa were a surprising side in the second part of the season, and in his full campaign in charge I think there's a big chance to see them as one of the surprises of the Serie A season.
It will be difficult for them after Vincenzo Italiano decided to leave the Italian side to join Besiktas. They hired a coach like Domenico Tedesco, who will make his Serie A debut this weekend: A risky choice.
One of those teams that always seem to find themselves in the same position at the start of the season: unlikely to face a relegation battle, but equally unlikely to challenge for a European spot.
I'm curious to see the impact of Ignazio Abate in Serie A after bringing Juve Stabia, a team that was placed under judicial administration as prosecutors stated the Serie B club was used as a tool by the local Camorra mafia clan, to the playoffs last season; now he has his first big chance in the Italian top flight.
Giovanni Carnevali, the former club CEO and the mastermind behind the success of the Neroverdi in the past years, has left his position and joined Juventus this summer. While Fabio Grosso left the club to take over at Fiorentina and most of the key players stayed, the club appointed Alberto Aquilani as his successor. Aquilani, who led Catanzaro to the Serie B playoff final in June, is widely regarded as one of the most talented young managers in Italy.
The Crociati survived the Italian first division under Carlos Cuesta last season, the youngest coach in the league and aim to do the same this year despite selling some key players, such as Zion Suzuki and Gabriel Strefez...
Serie A Power RankingsInterAC MilanFiorentinaSerie AItaly TheItaly
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