Ahead of the 2024-25 Serie A season, Inter Milan are the clear favorites. That comes as a result of winning last season’s title with a 19-point cushion and making some smart additions during the summer transfer window.

But if anybody thinks the Black and Blues are going to win a second straight Serie A title just as easily as last season, they are likely making a mistake.

There are multiple teams in Italy that look capable of challenging Inter for the title. This includes most of the usual suspects, but perhaps one or two surprises as well.

For fans of Serie A teams, now is the time to start exploring betting sites to find the best features and welcome offers before the season gets underway. This is also a good time to take a close look at the Serie A teams that pose the biggest threat to Inter’s goal of winning back-to-back league titles.

Juventus

Most years, the Old Lady of Italian soccer is both the preseason favorite and the reigning champ. That obviously isn’t the case this season, meaning the Turin-based club will be eager to set things right.

They have a young and exciting manager leading the way, as Thiago Motta has arrived at Juventus after doing some amazing things at Bologna over the last two seasons. Despite losing the services of Adrien Rabiot and Alex Sandro, Juventus has reinforced the midfield with Brazilian Douglas Luiz and Khephren Thuram.

With a striker like Dušan Vlahović, who’s capable of being one of the best in Serie A, Juventus is more than capable of being back among the contenders in Serie A and challenging Inter Milan in the title race.

AC Milan

There is nothing AC Milan wants more than to prevent their intra-city rivals from winning a second straight Serie A title.

Don’t forget that the Nerazzurri won the 2022 Serie A crown, so they are also striving to win the league twice in a span of four seasons.

New manager Paulo Fonseca figures to have a tough job ahead of him given the gap between the two Milan-based squads last season. However, striker Oliver Giroud is one of the few notable losses for the AC Milan squad over the summer.

Milan has quickly replaced him with Alvaro Morata while shoring up the defense with Strahinja Pavlovic.

The rest of the team remains largely intact from last season, and given the youth at the club, AC Milan could take some positive strides forward if Fonseca is able to implement his style and culture quickly.

There is also a chance that the Diavolo will add players before the transfer deadline who can also make a difference and close the gap with Inter.

Napoli

Despite being a mid-table finish last season, Napoli is immediately viewed as a potential title contender after hiring Antonio Conte.

He led Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2021 and has been most successful during his managerial career while in Italy.

Given the squad he’s inheriting and some of the summer transfer arrivals, it may not take much time for Conte to get Napoli up to speed with the other top teams in Serie A.

He’s already moved quickly to reinforce Napoli’s defense with the signings of Rafa Marin, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Leonardo Spinazzola.

Presumably, Victor Osimhen is going to leave,  meaning Napoli will have to figure out how to score goals consistently another way.

However, as long as Conte’s reputation as a defensive tactician holds true, Napoli could hang around near the top of the table until they figure out how to score goals.

Atalanta

Atalanta is definitely more of a dark horse than a bonafide title contender heading into the season.

The squad is dealing with some injuries to key players at the start of the season that could make it difficult to start fast.

But Atalanta has some things that the other top teams in Serie A lack. For starters, they have managerial consistency with Gian Piero Gasperini leading the way since 2016. The trust and respect he has from the players should help to stabilize things early in the season despite the injuries.

Don’t forget that Atalanta finished fourth in Serie A last season and had the second-best goal differential behind Inter Milan.

The club has also brought in Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere to add more attacking depth. While they aren’t the most obvious challenger for Inter, Atalanta is not a team to overlook this season.