Villarreal defender Raul Albiol believes that the Scudetto race will be competitive this season, with the likes of Inter, Juventus, and his former club Napoli the favourites.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the 36-year-old gave his views on the top teams in Serie A, and suggested that the Nerazzurri would have been favourites to defend their crown from last season before key departures in the summer but that the chase could be closer now.
Albiol has spent time with Spanish giants Valencia and Real Madrid as well as several seasons in Serie A with Napoli, with whom he came close to winning the Scudetto on a couple occasions.
The Spaniard believes that his former club will be amongst the top places in Serie A this season as well as predicting a strong season for Lazio under his former manager Maurizio Sarri, though he believes that the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri will also be among the very strongest teams.
However, this level of competition is something he would not have predicted had the Nerazzurri not lost two key figures over the summer.
“Inter were favourites, but the farewell of Conte and Lukaku evened the situation,” he said/ Inzaghi is an excellent coach, but comes in to a new club, and we’ll see how it goes.”
“I think it’s something between Juve, Napoli and Inter, with an eye on Sarri’s Lazio,” Albiol predicted. “Mourinho has also come in, the level of the coaches is very high and will raise the level of the whole league. It will be difficult even just getting into the Champions League places.”
