Italian League Prediction Thread (Serie A)

[hahay]

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Yesterday Mattia Perin said after a 3-0 defeat against Nürnberg, seems they are very optimistic with Motta this season.

Yesterday's match is not and should not be considered as a measure of quality of the team. Juventus has just started their pre-season training and one part of their team hasn't even returned from their holidays yet. They have a lot of work in front of them. Nurnberg is the exact opposite. They have finished their preparations, and their season in the 2. Bundesliga begins next weekend. It's only normal that they will have much better match fitness. Juve played the match with many youngsters, some of which won't stay at the club and others who will feature for the youth teams. 

But, even though the match cannot be used as a benchmark for Juventus performance for next season, at least Juventus must also be able to score a goal at least to reduce the defeat or maybe just one goal is not a problem. Because after all, in reality Juventus also got a penalty kick in the second half, and Vlahovic took the kick but unfortunately, Vlahovic also failed to score a goal even though it also happened through a penalty kick.

With this result, although it cannot be used as a full benchmark, but I think with a 3-0 defeat it will certainly be very worrying for Juventus next season. Because after all, Nurnberg is also only a team playing in the 2.Bundesliga and even, last season Nurnberg only finished in 12th position. With these factors, I personally might have doubts about Juventus for next season. But yes, hopefully those doubts will not come true, because previously I also really expected Thiago Motta to be successful with Juventus.

[Blitzboy]

`

I have the same thought as you, this drama is almost the same as Mbappe's case but Osimhen has a different story because if there is another club that is able to spend a large amount of money, the player will definitely be released.
While in Mbappe's case, PSG is really defending its mainstay player.

Napoli's efforts will actually only make Osimhen even more uncomfortable and of course his performance will decline.
This is the same as Napoli's selfishness without thinking about the risks that will occur because Osimhen could give back to the club like Mbappe did to PSG.

It looks like Napoli is losing this game. This thing with Osimhen? Its a mess. Its like watching a bad reality show: very dramatic but not very interesting. They're waiting for PSG to give up so they can get a few extra dollars. Thats not a smart way to negotiate, people. Its dangerous, its not fair to the player, and its slowing down the whole team.

Ohsimhen is great. He needs to know the truth, and Napoli needs to move on. They need to finish the deal, get the money, and put it back into the team. No one is falling for it. Everyone knows that they need that money to build for the future. Dont forget that Osimhen could leave in 2025 without having to pay anything. They have a time bomb on their chest that is set to go off.

Napoli, enough with the games. Make a decision. Be decisive. Be leaders. Get this deal done, and move on. Its the only way to win.

[eightdots]

`

I have the same thought as you, this drama is almost the same as Mbappe's case but Osimhen has a different story because if there is another club that is able to spend a large amount of money, the player will definitely be released.
While in Mbappe's case, PSG is really defending its mainstay player.

Napoli's efforts will actually only make Osimhen even more uncomfortable and of course his performance will decline.
This is the same as Napoli's selfishness without thinking about the risks that will occur because Osimhen could give back to the club like Mbappe did to PSG.

It looks like Napoli is losing this game. This thing with Osimhen? Its a mess. Its like watching a bad reality show: very dramatic but not very interesting. They're waiting for PSG to give up so they can get a few extra dollars. Thats not a smart way to negotiate, people. Its dangerous, its not fair to the player, and its slowing down the whole team.

Ohsimhen is great. He needs to know the truth, and Napoli needs to move on. They need to finish the deal, get the money, and put it back into the team. No one is falling for it. Everyone knows that they need that money to build for the future. Dont forget that Osimhen could leave in 2025 without having to pay anything. They have a time bomb on their chest that is set to go off.

Napoli, enough with the games. Make a decision. Be decisive. Be leaders. Get this deal done, and move on. Its the only way to win.

There are many mistakes made when negotiating transfers. The most important thing is the player's feelings and how this can affect his performance. I don't think it's right for clubs to treat players as if they are insensitive. Clubs should make money from transfers, but there should be a limit to this and some conveniences should be provided to the player's side.

Every player wants to play in a good club. Every player wants to go to a better club after showing a good performance.

[Altryist]

Yea, of course it is too early to start complaining about Motta's performance because it is only a friendly match and not a real one. With yesterday's performance by Juventus, Motta will be able to understand where there is a loop hole and he will fix it.

Don't forget that he is a new coach and is still studying the players and making them to blend to his game tactics, which make me see yesterday's defeat as a room for corrections and improvements before the real matches will start next season.

You could say that Motta wanted to look at young players, Juventus' starting lineup was very weak, and it was not worth expecting a victory from such a team, but later Motta made a number of substitutions, Vlahovic came out, who by the way could not score a penalty, so I rate Juventus' game as very weak. In Serie A, only Milan can compete with Inter, and Juventus is still too weak, and although this is only a friendly match, but for now the team looks too weak.

[MAAManda]

can Antonio Conte bring the best of Napoli next season and make them unstoppable?

There are many competitors in Serie A, Napoli has Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma, Lazio & Atalanta. Because of these conditions, it is difficult for Napoli to become unstoppable like 2 seasons ago. Antonio Conte might be able to bring a new positive atmosphere to the team, don't expect too high for Napoli, being in the top 5 at the end of the standings is already a good thing for them IMO.

[Rampagoe004]

The surprising thing in the friendly match last night against FC Nürnberg vs Juventus and the disappointing final result but is this normal?
Relying on young players is quite visible from the footage that the young players brought in defense seem unable to stem the power of FC Nürnberg in this match, even though this is a trial match, many have criticized Thiago Motta's performance at the beginning of his coaching while the players who played were not all the main squad only a few new players were fielded by Juventus in this match, but several opportunities did not produce a single goal for Juventus.

I think it is not unusual for a big team to lose to a mediocre team in a friendly match. A mediocre team usually plays with their best squad to see how good their current squad is. But usually big teams use this friendly match as a training ground for their bench players or young players to get enough playing time. Thiago Motta was criticized because Juventus lost to FC Nürnberg. But I think Motta played a lot of their young players and not many players from the first team. So there is no good reason to criticize Motta's performance in that friendly match.

[Oluwa-btc]

Honestly I'm quite expectant from Conte's Napoli.    You know Conte first of all. He is such a successful manager right? Wherever he goes he just maintains consistency which impresses me more. You know his times at Chelsea too. He achieved Premier League and FA Cup titles there. However his brightest times have been in Italy of course.



Conte just needs a good squad in his hands. This is why he has been trying to convince the most crucial players to stay. Kvaratskhelia isn't leaving. Even if Osimhen leaves they have a replacement ready: Romelu Lukaku.

I know how Lukaku played in Euro 2024 but he has been mostly impressive in the Serie A unlike that performance. I think Napoli will be in the title race this season, but being champions? I don't think so yet. 

Likewise. Narrow it down to the Seria A Scudetto League Competition, he is well experienced and has what it takes to succeed same way he did previously with Inter Milan and also the old ladies, Juventus as he went ahead to win back to back Scudetto League Competition with and for them.

I was so close to becoming a Chelsea fan that season he was manager at Chelsea. He did pretty great I cannot lie, since then, I have followed him closely. People will talk about his time with Tottenham Hotspur but, even with Jose they had the same issue. It was all about the foundation of Spurs.

I don't think Romelu Lukaku will offer better services in attack than Victor Oshime, but since Victor has expressed his desires to leave tue club, then so be it. Romelu Lukaku didn't do so well in the European Championship honestly. Godspeed with them ahead, not playing no European Competitions games could benefit them in Seria A. It reminds me of how his first season as a manager went with Chelsea. It was also as it is right now.

[Sexylizzy2813]

With the recent development at Napoli with the big boss Antonio Conte on the mix, the Napoli side was terrible during the better part of last season and they never showed any sign of improvement. Now we have Antonio Conte taking charge of everything that would make the team come back to their excellent form they had when they won the league title, can Antonio Conte make this season much difficult for the other competitors in the Italian league? Because to me I don't see Inter Milan making a joke out of Napoli next campaign and Juventus too have a new manager to turn things around for the club, can Antonio Conte bring the best of Napoli next season and make them unstoppable?

Honestly I'm quite expectant from Conte's Napoli.    You know Conte first of all. He is such a successful manager right? Wherever he goes he just maintains consistency which impresses me more. You know his times at Chelsea too. He achieved Premier League and FA Cup titles there. However his brightest times have been in Italy of course.



Conte just needs a good squad in his hands. This is why he has been trying to convince the most crucial players to stay. Kvaratskhelia isn't leaving. Even if Osimhen leaves they have a replacement ready: Romelu Lukaku.

I know how Lukaku played in Euro 2024 but he has been mostly impressive in the Serie A unlike that performance. I think Napoli will be in the title race this season, but being champions? I don't think so yet. 

To be sincere with you when Conte was at Chelsea I saw the Blues as one of the most deadliest team in the EPL, he changed everything completely like every player was mobile, strong when attacking and defending, but Tottenham Hotspur that was the only team I saw him not at his best and is like the heads at Spurs are the problem to his success in that club.
That's all he needs to make Napoli better competitors next season and Victor Osimhen transfer saga is another thing to consider, if not for how he was badly treated I would have suggested he stays with the side and work out things with the new manager and I see Osimhen as a better attacker than Lukaku. The Belgium international isn't as active as of when he won the league with Inter Milan years back, not that he's not good but his form continue to drop but having both players won't be a bad idea.
Conte will make it more difficult for other clubs to get to the top, he won't stop until he manages to get something this season but for now we can't tell who will be crowned champions, let's wait till the right time.

[EL MOHA]

Yesterday's match is not and should not be considered as a measure of quality of the team. Juventus has just started their pre-season training and one part of their team hasn't even returned from their holidays yet. They have a lot of work in front of them. Nurnberg is the exact opposite. They have finished their preparations, and their season in the 2. Bundesliga begins next weekend. It's only normal that they will have much better match fitness. Juve played the match with many youngsters, some of which won't stay at the club and others who will feature for the youth teams. 

Although pre season friendlies are actually a way to tell how the season will look but that’s not the best thing to use to measure the club going to the season. Some of the clubs are currently without their senior players due to the Euro and Copa America vacations, but the main thing is managers like Thiago Motta are implementing new tactics which will definitely not click in the first moment. Also most of all this smaller clubs take pre season more important because some players are seeking for top flight recognition not more. It will be absurd to rate clubs pre season performance in correlation to what will happen during the season, Pep hardly wins pre season matches

[Marvell1]

~snip~
In my opinion, in terms of career performance comparison, Lukaku is much better, but looking at the current season comparison, Osimhen is better, but Osimhen has not yet proven whether or not he can be a good player after leaving Napoli, something that in my opinion could be a disaster for Osimhen if he leaves Napoli. I say this because at Napoli he is the center of attention, even during games the tendency of his teammates is to pass the ball to Osimhen. But that will not happen when he plays for a team like PSG, then he will gradually lose importance, which is why in my opinion it would be good for Osimhen to stay at Napoli until his contract ends and improve his performance even more so that he attracts the attention of big teams in the Premier League, I am talking about Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Teams like Chelsea and Manchester United would be career destroying.

~snip~
If it's only to meet Napoli's interests, I think Lukaku is enough and it has been proven that his performance at Italian clubs has always been disappointing, so maybe this is what underlies Napoli's desire for him. For Osimhen, he should have known what he had to do if he joined PSG, especially since he had previously defended Lille so that his performance could still be adjusted to the league environment. Losing his quality is certainly not what Osimhen will get and on the contrary it will make it much easier for him. Now for the Premier League team, I think most of them are currently only interested and are not fully convinced to bring in Osimhen, let's see if Osimhen goes to PSG, then his chances in the future to go to the Premier League will be much greater.

The club which will actually get Lukaku is not going to have a certain thing called future proofing. If the club get Osimhen, he will be able to give his service for a longer period of time. But in case of Lukaku, he is already 31 years old. So there is a very high chance that he will not be able to repeat the performance that he was doing in his Prime anymore. But in case of Osimhen, he is only 25 years old. So there is a very high chance that his performance is only going to improve.

So in my opinion it makes a lot of sense for any club to actually go for Osimhen instead of Lukaku if they have the chance. But lets be honest, transfer is not as easy as it sounds. Especially with the money that a club will have to spend to get Osimhen is absolutely insane. As far it is more than € 120 mil right now. And for a player who has not performed that good in the last season, spending € 120 million does look like a stupid decision. 

[Jody.Drummer]

Yesterday's match is not and should not be considered as a measure of quality of the team. Juventus has just started their pre-season training and one part of their team hasn't even returned from their holidays yet. They have a lot of work in front of them. Nurnberg is the exact opposite. They have finished their preparations, and their season in the 2. Bundesliga begins next weekend. It's only normal that they will have much better match fitness. Juve played the match with many youngsters, some of which won't stay at the club and others who will feature for the youth teams. 

Although pre season friendlies are actually a way to tell how the season will look but that’s not the best thing to use to measure the club going to the season. Some of the clubs are currently without their senior players due to the Euro and Copa America vacations, but the main thing is managers like Thiago Motta are implementing new tactics which will definitely not click in the first moment. Also most of all this smaller clubs take pre season more important because some players are seeking for top flight recognition not more. It will be absurd to rate clubs pre season performance in correlation to what will happen during the season, Pep hardly wins pre season matches

I actually don't want to comment on what happened to the clubs that played pre-season matches, including Juventus. Because what we saw in this match can't be used as a conclusion that their game will be like that when the season starts. In fact, one of the reasons why I don't want to bet on pre-season matches is because they are not serious about winning.

I think we have heard many coaches say that they are not focused on winning in matches like this, they say more that they only focus on their form of play, while seeing which strategy will be their mainstay. Usually they play all the players they have, and in strategy they try many strategies that are aimed at refining the strategy that they will use in the league. If their orientation is only on winning, then I don't think it can be called a trial match.

[beerlover]

A whole lotta Manchester United fans has shown and expressed how much they love Aaron Wan Bisakka immediately the transfer saga over his sale came up, that's simply because, he has silenced a whole lotta great wingers ( Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr, Wilfred Zaha, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Mo Salah, and a couple others I can't remember no more ) ever since he joined Manchester United and has obviously been the best 1vs1 defender in the world.

I know what he brings for Manchester United but these are hard times and hard decisons are meant to be made and I do feel like he's one of them defenders that should leave the club. Mayneethe fee for him to be bought for I'll say is poor, but that doesn't mean he should stay further, he has been a sqaud player, brilliant and excellent part of Manchester United. The thing is Manchester United cannot win the Premier League Competition with a right fullback like Aaron Wan Bisakka, it's a painful decision to make but he needs to go.

I hope they sell him to Inter Milan and not West Ham United because, I don't want to see him pocketing Manchester United winger's when they go on against him.

When he is healthy he is one of the great wingers, but defensive backs are not really what people are looking for these days and United may look for something else because of that. I am not saying that we are going to see something changing all that easily, of course that may not be the case, but by the looks of it that may not be impossible neither.

I think the best case would be just trying to find an alternative to this. Dumfries is not going to be good enough, Wan Bissaka is a lot better and United should keep him if that's the deal, because I do not think that it's a fair trade between clubs, United would be losing a lot more there, plus not like they need Dumfries neither.

What I think they should do would be just get Bissaka to stay, and if what people are saying true about Depay, just 5 million, that is not money that United can't afford, it's cheap, and he can be a lot better than Dumfries as well, so it would work for them on both sides. I believe that getting rid of some salaries could be the key for United I suppose, but they shouldn't look for that in WB, he is a good player and while they can definitely improve on that position, this trade isn't what they need, they need much more.

[Sexylizzy2813]

can Antonio Conte bring the best of Napoli next season and make them unstoppable?

There are many competitors in Serie A, Napoli has Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma, Lazio & Atalanta. Because of these conditions, it is difficult for Napoli to become unstoppable like 2 seasons ago. Antonio Conte might be able to bring a new positive atmosphere to the team, don't expect too high for Napoli, being in the top 5 at the end of the standings is already a good thing for them IMO.

I get your point, see this man Conte he has a way of making the team much better and don't be surprised when you see those teams you mentioned might not do well next season and I believe it will happen, maybe not Juventus or Atalanta but mark what I said, Napoli will try to get something like I said earlier. If Conte could get hold of any better striker maybe Osimhen or Lukaku then the team is set to go because the other 1st eleven are not making a move to leave the club so I believe Conte has a chance of finishing either 2nd or getting lucky to win the league, but one thing is for sure that those teams that got the best of Napoli last season would find it hard to repeat the same thing this coming season.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

I actually don't want to comment on what happened to the clubs that played pre-season matches, including Juventus. Because what we saw in this match can't be used as a conclusion that their game will be like that when the season starts. In fact, one of the reasons why I don't want to bet on pre-season matches is because they are not serious about winning.

I think we have heard many coaches say that they are not focused on winning in matches like this, they say more that they only focus on their form of play, while seeing which strategy will be their mainstay. Usually they play all the players they have, and in strategy they try many strategies that are aimed at refining the strategy that they will use in the league. If their orientation is only on winning, then I don't think it can be called a trial match.

Yeah you are right, and matches like this always happen every year so no need to be surprised. Winning is not a priority and almost all clubs have new players so they need to play them as a trial to determine their positions and build chemistry that's why we saw Juventus make 11 substitutions, also to determine who deserves a starting position in the new season. Juventus still have 2 friendlies match ahead against Brest and Atletico Madrid well we don't need to seriously wait for this match because there is a possibility that a similar defeat will happen again and as you said we have reasons to avoid betting on matches like this.

[Juse14]

...............

I get your point, see this man Conte he has a way of making the team much better and don't be surprised when you see those teams you mentioned might not do well next season and I believe it will happen, maybe not Juventus or Atalanta but mark what I said, Napoli will try to get something like I said earlier. If Conte could get hold of any better striker maybe Osimhen or Lukaku then the team is set to go because the other 1st eleven are not making a move to leave the club so I believe Conte has a chance of finishing either 2nd or getting lucky to win the league, but one thing is for sure that those teams that got the best of Napoli last season would find it hard to repeat the same thing this coming season.

The ability of motivating players and setting up effective strategies by Conte could be a plus for the improved form of Napoli. He is famous for being very strict tactically and squeezing out the maximum from the players at his disposal. If, under Conte, he does manage to keep a core of key players fit and build strong chemistry within the team, then Napoli will run the league close.

A quality striker such as Osimhen or Lukaku can play a vital role in Conte's game plan by leading an attacking force effectively. Having been supported by a sound midfield and strong defense, Napoli has found continuity in their performance this season.

Let the others watch out because Napoli under Conte can be a very interesting team to see. There are no guarantees in football, but one thing is for sure. Napoli will be a very interesting team to watch next season. The competition in the league gets stronger also, with the work Conte will do in Napoli that could bring big surprises.

[Uruhara]

can Antonio Conte bring the best of Napoli next season and make them unstoppable?

There are many competitors in Serie A, Napoli has Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma, Lazio & Atalanta. Because of these conditions, it is difficult for Napoli to become unstoppable like 2 seasons ago. Antonio Conte might be able to bring a new positive atmosphere to the team, don't expect too high for Napoli, being in the top 5 at the end of the standings is already a good thing for them IMO.

Totally agree with your opinion friend. Because in reality we shouldn't have too high hopes for Napoli with a new season with a new coach. Even though we know that Conte's past qualities as a coach were very good and he has made many achievements in Serie A and also in the Premier League. But we don't know whether he will really be able to improve Napoli in the Serie A standings or not. However, I am optimistic that at least Conte will be better than the previous Napoli coach. But yeah, we still can't hope that Napoli will immediately be able to fight back for the top position in the standings. That will still be difficult to do. But maybe fighting for position 5 or 4 is still possible for this team.

[BITCOIN4X]

~Snip

I actually don't want to comment on what happened to the clubs that played pre-season matches, including Juventus. Because what we saw in this match can't be used as a conclusion that their game will be like that when the season starts. In fact, one of the reasons why I don't want to bet on pre-season matches is because they are not serious about winning.

Some of the pre-season matches played by each team are basically played seriously, but it is true that they are not really important matches to win. Betting on pre-season matches is very risky, even top teams can lose because there are many inexperienced players in their line-up. So don't bet on pre-season games, unless you just want to have fun.

Test matches or friendly matches during pre-season are an event for most young players. The coach will get more young players on the tour or friendly matches instead of the main players, this is done so that the coach can find the potential of his young players if he is needed when the season starts. For new coaches, pre-season matches are an important part of introducing all players to their strategy.

[Docnaster]

The top Italian clubs haven't done so much in the transfer window in their preparations for next season. After Inter Milan dominated the league last season, I was expecting the other top teams to have a very busy summer in other to strengthen their clubs ahead of next season. Looking at the quality of players and depth in squad of the Italian clubs, I think Inter Milan will still retain the league title come next season. Napoli had a regrettable campaign last season after winning the league title the previous season but aside appointing a new manager, they've not done much in bringing in new quality players to the team.

[Iranus]

snip

First, your stats for Osimhen's goals is not accurate. He has scored 76 goals for Napoli so far and he scored 17 for Lille in France, not 14, but that's btw.
Since Osimhen has not played up to half of the games Lukaku has played, you can't compare just by goals. You have to use the goal ratio. If you notice Lukaku played 278 games in the epl and scored 121 goals, and Osimhen has scored 76 in 108 games, that shows that Osimhen's ratio is more impressive than Lukaku's.

If you compare Lukaku's serie A to Osimhen's, Osimhen is still better because I'm pretty sure 76 goals in 108 games is better than 70 goals in 129 games.

When people say Osimhen hasn't proven himself, I don't understand what that means. He scored 17 goals for Napoli despite them having one of the worst league seasons in a long time, he scored 31 before that. We've watched him perform time and again but you still say he hasn't proven himself, what more do you want him to do? And don't tell me the "because he has played in the epl" bullshit, because currently, the serie A is just as difficult as the EPL.

In my opinion, Osimhen will do just fine in PSG. They don't have a striker better than him and they don't have Mbappe anymore that the whole team looks up to. Osimhen is not the kind of striker that waits in the box like Lukaku, so he'll excell in a lot of big clubs. As long as the club has good wingers and midfielders, he will be fine. And I PSG he'll have way less pressure on his shoulders and that can be better for a player.

Osimhen will definitely do fine at PSG. But I think the problem is going to be that he is not going to have a good competition consistently. That is why he is not going to feel the pressure of proving himself consistently just like you said. And that is not going to be necessarily a good thing for Osimhen. Pressure makes diamonds. he is only going to perform his best when he is under pressure. if Osimhen is not under pressure he is probably not going to perform as well as he probably could have. it is best for a player like him to be under some Consistent competition, that's how players get better.

Right now if I have to compare him  with Lukaku, I will obviously say that Osimhen is the better one compared between these two. if money is not a problem Osimhen is definitely the better choice in this comparison. But again Osimhen should choose a club where he is going to have some competition and a constant need of proving himself again and again. I understand that a lot of people say that he has already proved himself. But proving himself once is not going to be the 'be all end all' of his career.

[Fiatless]

The top Italian clubs haven't done so much in the transfer window in their preparations for next season. After Inter Milan dominated the league last season, I was expecting the other top teams to have a very busy summer in other to strengthen their clubs ahead of next season. Looking at the quality of players and depth in squad of the Italian clubs, I think Inter Milan will still retain the league title come next season. Napoli had a regrettable campaign last season after winning the league title the previous season but aside appointing a new manager, they've not done much in bringing in new quality players to the team.

There have been transfer deals going on in the Seria A but they are not well known because they don't involve top players. Alvaro Morata moving from Atletico Madrid to AC Milan is one of the most pronounced transfer news. Normally Italian teams are not always active in big money spending on players, so their low interest is not strange. The transfer market is still open; maybe we might see new signings before the window closes. Inter Milan indeed remains the most prepared club for this season because they retained most of their quality players. It seems Napoli is waiting for the money they will realize from the sale of Victor Osimhen, for them to engage fully in the transfer market..