OUR man in Rome Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) gives us his thoughts on the new Serie A season.
Winner
With Juventus saying goodbye to Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez it is now or never for Roma. With the likes of Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah recruited over the summer the giallorossi could finally reach the summit after two consecutive runner-up finishes.
Each Way Pick
If Napoli are able to keep Gonzalo Higuain I’m really excited to see what coach Maurizio Sarri can do with this team. In all likliehood they won't have enough about them to win the Scudetto but if everything goes well for Sarri they can be right in the mix come springtime.
Top 3 Finish
If the giallorossi don't have enough to win the title then I'm sure their offensive quality will be too much for the vast majority of this division. I'll be backing them to finish within the Top 3 with a BIG stake.
Relegation
Last season I was a great Empoli supporter. They were an outstanding side who played tremendous football and did themselves huge credit by finishing 15th in the top flight having just been promoted. This season though, the departure of their coach Maurizio Sarri to Napoli looks a huge blow for the club and I fear this will leave them light tactically. On top of this they've lost their three best players from last season in Daniele Rugani, Mirko Valdifiori and Elseid Hysaj. It is with great regret that I have to back them for relegation.
Top Goalscorer
Carlos Bacca is probably the best number 9 in Serie A along with Edin Dzeko and Gonzalo Higuain. His club AC Milan will not have any European competition to worry about this season so this will guarantee him plenty of domestic appearances and the opportunity to score lots of goals.
As well as Bacca I'll also be getting involved with Torino's Andrea Belotti at a big price. Belotti for me has lots of quality and I see him scoring big numbers in 2015/16. I actually meant to back him before his move from Palermo to Torino and if I'm honest I'm not as confident now as he will have a number of competitors at the Turin club. That said, I still believe in his qualities as a goalscorer and I think he can finish high in this particular market.
Best Bets
Serie A 2015/16 – Roma to win (7/1 Coral)
Serie A 2015/16 – Napoli each way (9/1 Bet365)
Serie A 2015/16 – Roma Top 3 Finish (10/11 Bet365)
Serie A 2015/16 – Empoli to be relegated (5/2 Bet365)
Serie A 2015/16 – Carlos Bacca Top Goalscorer (12/1 Ladbrokes)
Serie A 2015/16 – Andrea Belotti (80/1 Ladbrokes)
