Former Roma full-back Federico Balzaretti believes Inter are the clear favourites to win the Serie A title this season, and that the groundwork was laid last year.

The Nerazzurri went into today’s round of fixtures with a six point lead over AC Milan and hold a game in hand, as they challenge for a first Scudetto since 2010.

For Balzaretti, Inter had always been the favourites to lift the title thanks to coach Antonio Conte, with his first season at the club putting the foundations in place for a Scudetto challenge this year.

“I expected the current top seven in the table to be as they are. Inter have always been the favourites because the work done by Antonio Conte last year is being continued this season,” Balzaretti claimed in an interview published in today’s newspaper edition of Centro Suono Sport.

“Juventus were undergoing changes and I always expected them to face difficulties. In general, the positions reflect the value of the league. COVID-19 has changed the conditions and coaches needed to be good to work with the whole group this year.

“There has been a wider difficulty in that nobody had time to do pre-season preparations and all the teams have faced many commitments,” he concluded.

Balzaretti enjoyed a successful spell at Palermo from 2007 to 2012 before moving on to Roma, where he was blighted by injuries and forced to retire in 2015.

The 39-year-old earned 16 caps for Italy and was included in the squad that finished runners-up at Euro 2012.