Preview of the 1st round of Serie A, August 22-24

The new Serie A season kicks off on August 22, being the fourth among the top-5 European leagues to start. The previous season was so tense that up until the last round, four teams were vying for two remaining Champions League spots. The new season promises to be no less interesting, with several intriguing clashes awaiting us in the first round.

Inter – Monza

Inter approaches the new season as the reigning champions of Italy. The team's goal is clear - to defend the title, although the competition for the Scudetto promises to be fierce. The schedule at the start has been quite favorable to the Milanese: in the first round they will host Monza, who spent the last season in Serie B and has forgotten the taste of real Italian football. The favorite of the upcoming match is clear, but the visitors will surely try to put up a fight and will not give Inter three points without a struggle.

Link to the match:

Inter – Monza

Udinese – Como

Parallel to the Inter and Monza match, a meeting between Udinese and Como kicks off. The main revelation of the last Serie A season was Cesc Fabregas's team, which unexpectedly managed to break into the top-4 and is now preparing to debut in the Champions League. The visitors have a very young squad, which may lack experience for fighting on three fronts as the season progresses. But the first conclusions about this can only be made after a few months. For now, Como's task is much simpler - to start the championship with a victory, but for this, they will have to deal with a strong Udinese on the road.

Link to the match:

Udinese – Como

Genoa – Napoli

Last season, Napoli failed to defend the championship title and finished second, so now the Neapolitans have an obvious task - to return to the top of Serie A. For this, the club invited Massimiliano Allegri, who is good at building result-oriented teams. However, Napoli's transfer campaign raises questions so far: the club spent about 70 million euros, but a significant part of this sum went to buy out players who played for the team on loan. In the first round, the Neapolitans face a tough trip to Genoa, where Genoa caused quite a few problems for more prestigious opponents last season. However, the history of personal meetings is clearly on the side of the visitors: Genoa has not been able to beat Napoli in 25 out of the last 26 Serie A matches.

Link to the match:

Genoa – Napoli

Parma – Cagliari

On the evening of August 22, a match between Parma and Cagliari will also take place. Usually, the main task for these teams is to maintain their place in Serie A, and the goals for the new season are unlikely to change much. Despite this being only the first round, losing points in a match against a direct competitor is highly undesirable: at the end of the season, this could very wellbackfire. Meanwhile, the recent head-to-head meetings have not been favorable for Parma: the Crusaders have failed to beat Cagliari in the previous six games, suffering four defeats and two draws. So, the psychological advantage is on the side of the visitors.

Match link:

Parma – Cagliari

Juventus – Frosinone

Juventus would clearly like to forget the end of the last season as soon as possible. For most of the championship, the team looked decent, but in the last five rounds, they only gained six points, which cost them a ticket to the Champions League - they finished the championship in sixth place, trailing the coveted top-4 by just two points. Naturally, in the new season, the Turin team will do everything to make it up to their fans - the club has significantly strengthened over the summer, so it can certainly compete for the title. The calendar at the start also turned out to be favorable: in the first round, Juventus will play against Frosinone, which is returning to Serie A after a two-year absence.

Match link:

Juventus – Frosinone

Venezia – Lecce

Last season, Venezia was forced to spend in Serie B after being relegated from the elite, but did not stay long in the second strongest division of Italy: the team confidently took first place and immediately returned to Serie A. The main task for the new season is obvious - not to become a yo-yo team and maintain its status in the top division. Lecce's priorities hardly change from year to year: the club will again primarily fight for survival. Therefore, the upcoming match is of particular importance for both teams.

Match link:

Venezia – Lecce

Atalanta – Sassuolo

Atalanta was one of the teams that did not secure a Champions League spot at the end of last season. The Bergamo team performed below their usual standards and finished only seventh, receiving a consolation place in the Conference League qualification. By the way, the team has already started the fight to reach the main stage of the tournament and in the first match of the final qualifying round, surprisingly, could not beat Hapoel Tel Aviv at home (0:0). Therefore, Maurizio Sarri faces a difficult choice: to field the strongest lineup in the first round of Serie A or to save some leaders before the return match with the Israelis. Especially since Atalanta's opponent is far from being a pushover - Sassuolo, as a newcomer last season, finished 11th and clearly does not intend to slow down.

Match link:

Atalanta – Sassuolo

Torino – Milan

One of the most intriguing matches of the first round of Serie A will be the meeting between Torino and Milan. The Rossoneri spent last season notThe team didn't perform as successfully as anticipated: they finished fifth and missed out on a Champions League spot. In the new season, Milan is clearly determined to rectify this mistake, especially after the club underwent a major restructuring over the summer, significantly refreshing the squad and coaching staff. Torino, on the other hand, remains a strong mid-table Serie A team, which is particularly tough on their home turf and will undoubtedly strive to snatch points from their more prestigious opponent.

Match link:

Torino – Milan

Bologna – Lazio

Last season, Bologna and Lazio performed below expectations, finishing the championship in eighth and ninth places respectively and even missing out on a Conference League spot. After such a result, both teams are surely aiming to have a significantly better new season, especially since both clubs changed their head coaches over the summer. Therefore, the start of the championship takes on additional significance for them: from the very first rounds, they will be proving that last season was an anomaly.

Match link:

Bologna – Lazio

Roma – Fiorentina

The first round's program will conclude with a match between Roma and Fiorentina. The Romans can confidently chalk up last season as a success: the team finished third, although few expected to see them so high up before the start of the championship. Fiorentina, on the contrary, had a disappointing majority of the season and looked particularly weak in the first half, spending a long time in the relegation zone. Only in the spring did the Florentines manage to significantly improve and rise to 15th place. After such a season, the violets, naturally, will want to return to the top-7, so Roma should not expect an easy walk.

Match link:

Roma – Fiorentina

Round Summary

Undoubtedly, the main focus in the first round will be on Monday, when two intriguing matches will take place – Bologna will face off against Lazio, and Roma will play against Fiorentina. But there's plenty of intrigue elsewhere: it will be interesting to see how Juventus, Milan, and Atalanta, who missed out on the Champions League at the end of the last championship, will start the season. Newcomers to Serie A – Frosinone and Monza – who are set to face off against the giants, are also of particular interest. We closely follow the first round and urge caution when choosing bets. For those wishing to receive a bonus, we recommend checking out the list at italian betting sites