Serie A action returns this week with Calcio zealots left chomping at the bit after a near two month break due to the 2022 World Cup. We now head into 2023 with all 20 Serie A teams back in action on Wednesday, including a colossal matchup between Inter and Napoli.
The Partenopei are the current league leaders through 15 games, leading second-placed Milan by a total of eight points. Nonetheless, with more than half the season’s fixtures still to be played, there are still plenty of twists and turns ahead with everything still to play for.
Below we take a look at the 2022/23 Serie A title race as we all anticipate the return of Italian top flight football.
Napoli
We had to begin with the impressive Napoli who are sitting pretty at the top of the pile and it’s looking like this could be one of the best chances of them winning the Scudetto for the first time since 1990. Luciano Spalletti’s side were incredible to start the campaign and are yet to suffer a single league defeat all season. Napoli were on a fantastic run of form before the break too, winning all 11 of their previous Serie A matches. Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia were the two key men before the turn of the year and will be looking to continue in their rich vein of form in 2023.
However, Napoli have only faced three teams out of the current top six thus far and despite finding victory in all three of those games (Lazio, Milan and Atalanta), the Partenopei will have some much sterner challenges ahead, including Wednesday’s blockbuster clash against Inter. Napoli also host a Juventus side on the up next week and will have to hit the ground running after the break to maintain their lead at the top.
Milan
Champions Milan currently occupy second place in the Serie A table and face a difficult task at defending the title with Napoli already having built a significant ascendance at the summit. The Rossoneri are expected to pick up three points against mid-table Salernitana on Wednesday and could reduce the gap to five points if fierce rivals Inter defeat Napoli.
Stefano Pioli will be encouraged by the performances of Olivier Giroud for France at the Qatar World Cup which saw the 36-year-old become Les Bleus‘ all-time leading goalscorer after his four goals at the tournament. The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker has also impressed in Serie A, providing eight goal contributions in just 13 games. Giroud’s performances will be crucial for Milan’s title aspirations, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic still recovering from serious injury.
Juventus
After an underwhelming 2021/22 campaign following the return of Massimiliano Allegri, the pressure was on at the beginning of the 2022/23 season for Juventus. It has been a chaotic few years for the Bianconeri since they last won the Scudetto in 2020 under Maurizio Sarri, not only on the pitch but also off it, including the resignations of Andrea Agnelli and Pavel Nedved in light of the financial problems and ‘salary maneuvers’.
However, Allegri has turned things around on the pitch after a torrid start. Juve began the campaign with just two wins from seven games, also suffering a defeat away to newly promoted Monza back in September. Nonetheless, the despair surrounding the Turin club has been eased, with the Bianconeri winning all six of their previous Serie A matches before the break for the World Cup.
Having won just one Champions League match from six and also suffering a 2-0 loss away to Milan in October, Allegri seemed to be on his way out. A change in system and shift in momentum has turned things around and somehow the Old Lady find themselves in the title race, currently sitting in third.
Victories against rivals Inter and Lazio in November will give Juventus optimism for the new year and having conceded just seven league goals all season (the least in Serie A), they will be eagerly awaiting the returns of offensive talents Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba to propel Juve into making a serious impact on the Serie A title race.
World Cup champions Leandro Paredes and Ángel Di María are back training with Juventus. pic.twitter.com/MILuZhuy4S
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) January 2, 2023
Lazio
Rounding up the top four, we have two-time Scudetto winners Lazio led by Sarri. Ciro Immobile has been the star in the capital for the past six and a half seasons, racking up a behemoth total of 156 Serie A goals in just 219 games since the 2016/17 campaign. Once again, that man has been crucial to the Biancocelesti and has nine goal contributions in just 11 league games so far this term.
Nevertheless, Immobile’s incredible goalscoring record for Lazio has not resulted in much glory. The club have won just one Coppa Italia since the 32-year-old joined from Torino in 2016. If Lazio are able to put up a fight in the Serie A title race, then Immobile will be expected to have yet another incredible season. However, even his 36-goal Serie A season in 2020 only led them to a fourth-placed finish, their highest since 2015. Sitting 11 points behind leaders Napoli, the Eagles will be aiming for Champions League qualification.
Inter
2021 champions Inter are just about still in the title race, sitting in fifth place. The Nerazzurri are level on points with Lazio and therefore remain 11 points behind Napoli. Of course, as previously mentioned, Inter’s matchup with Napoli to restart Serie A action is monumental, not only for Simone Inzaghi’s men but also for the rest of the title contenders.
Inter followed up a 2-0 defeat away to Juventus at the beginning of November with back-to-back wins over Bologna and Atalanta to conclude the first half of the season. The come-from-behind victory in Bergamo proved crucial in keeping Inter within distance, as well as the return of Marcelo Brozovic who also starred for Croatia at the World Cup. However, Brozovic has picked up another injury, albeit a minor one, but it will still keep him out for the Napoli game on Wednesday in what is a huge blow for the Nerazzurri. The Scudetto seems a little out of reach for Inter this season.