The Serie A season finally gets underway this weekend.
The Serie A season finally gets underway this weekend, following a delay due to the fallout from the match-fixing scandal.
Juventus have been demoted to Serie B for their part in the scandal, while Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan will start the season with 19, 11 and eight-point deductions respectively.
With a number of the major players seemingly out of the running, the talk in Italy is that Internazionale and Roma will fight out the scudetto.
Reggina face a mountain to climb if they are to stay up, as they have been docked 15 points for their part in the match-fixing scandal, while Catania, Messina and Cagliari are also likely to struggle.
Skysports.com's Italian expert Nadia Carminati has previewed the season, giving her views on who will be the teams to watch in the new term.
ASCOLI
Ascoli play their second consecutive Serie A season and it will be a much-changed side on show. There have been a number of comings and goings over the summer, notably a new coach in Attilio Tesser and he has been charged with the task of steadying the ship.
Veteran keeper Gianluca Pagliuca, defenders Paolo Foglio and Valentin Nastase, midfielder Fabio Pecchia and striker Gennaro Delvecchio are new faces. Their season could hinge on how the players bond in the early weeks of the season, but it is likely to be a tough campaign for Ascoli.
ATALANTA
Christian Vieri's return is the most interesting market affair made by the Bergamo side. Vieri may have commanded the headlines, but president Ivan Ruggeri also added Cristiano Doni and allowed coach Stefano Colantuono to bring in Moris Carrozzieri, Conteh Kewullayu, Nelson Abeijon, Ferreira Pinto and Leonardo Talamonti.
On paper, the Serie A new boys have spent well this summer, but there is more than a suspicion over how well the new arrivals will be able to integrate into the old group. Atalanta possess experience and quality, but Colantuono will have to be able manage the possible troubles if they are to prosper.
CAGLIARI
Cagliari president Massimo Cellino was true to his word as he kept hold of David Suazo, Mauro Esposito and Antonio Langella despite the many offers the club received for the trio.
With few arrivals in the close season, the trio will be key to the club's fortunes. Attention will also be focused on young striker Pepe, who arrived from Udinese, as he will get the chance to play regularly and fulfil his potential.
Many eyes will be on new coach Marco Giampaolo and Cagliari will hope he can repeat the fine season he had with Ascoli.
CATANIA
The Serie A new boys have made no secret that their aim for the season is to avoid a swift return to Serie B.
The club made the return to the top flight for the first time in 23 years and coach Pasquale Marino worked hard on squad strengthening this summer. Lorenzo Stovini, Fausto Rossini, Mark Edusei, Takayuki Morimoto and Giuseppe Colucci are viewed as notable signings and how they perform could decide their fate.
CHIEVO
The Flying Donkeys enter the new season on a low note, having been beaten by Levski Sofia in UEFA Champions League qualifying, but they are still hopeful of a good campaign.
The Uefa Cup will be a distraction for coach Giuseppe Pillon, but he is sure to urge his players to make Serie A their priority.
Amauri was a notable summer departure, but they kept hold of Franco Semioli and added Denis Godeas and Kamil Kosowski to their ranks. The concern for some is that many of Chievo's players are the wrong side of 30, but the experience can be a bonus and they are sure to be fighting in the top half of the table.
EMPOLI
The Tuscan side suffered a summer blow as star player Francesco Tavano joined Valencia and his absence will be sorely felt. Luca Saudati has been brought in as a direct replacement, but he has major boots to fill.
The arrival of Daniele Adani is a major addition to the back line, but there were few other arrivals for Luigi Cagni and avoiding relegation will be the main aim.
FIORENTINA
A 19-point penalty for match fixing did not dent the club's ambitions in the transfer market, with the Viola hierarchy keen to build a squad capable of climbing away from trouble.
Adrian Mutu, Fabio Liverani, Massimo Gobbi, Manuele Blasi and Mario Santana were notable captures and will go some way to offsetting the loss of Valeri Bojinov, Stefano Fiore, Antonio Jimenez and Marco Di Loreto.
Many fans will, however, feel that the club's decision to retain the services of star striker Luca Toni will be of greater importance.
A 19-point penalty is a huge handicap to overcome, but should Toni and the new signings settle then they have enough class to extricate themselves from trouble.
INTERNAZIONALE
Inter were the big players in the summer transfer window, with president Massimo Moratti eager to take advantage of their rivals' troubles and land the Serie A title.
The Nerazzurri strengthened in all areas over the summer, with Fabio Grosso a notable defensive signing to follow up the captures of Maicon and Maxwell.
Olivier Dacourt, Mariono Gonzales and Patrick Vieira add real quality to the midfield and with Hernan Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining Adriano, Julio Cruz and Alvaro Recoba in attack, the ingredients are there for success.
Roberto Mancini's biggest problem is which 11 players to select, as a number of egos are likely to be dented with so much quality on show.
Inter were awarded the title following Juventus' relegation, but they will want to win it by rights in the new campaign.
LAZIO
Lazio start the season with an 11-point penalty, but they have enough quality to climb into the upper reaches of the table.
Coach Delio Rossi allowed Fabio Liverani and Ousmane Dabo to move on, which allowed him to raid the market to sign Stephen Makinwa, Cristian Ledesma, Massimo Mutarelli and Pasquale Foggia.
Of more importance could be the fact that Massimo Oddo decided to stay in the Eternal City and he could be the man to spark a charge towards Europe.
LIVORNO
Livorno threw away a golden chance to secure European football with an awful finish to the last campaign, but the Tuscan side are sure to come back with renewed vigour.
Cristiano Lucarelli decided to remain with the club and this is undoubtedly their most important piece of summer business. Sammy Kuffour, Rahman Rezaei, Antonio Filippini, Jose Vidigal and Giovanni Pasquale have joined the club and they could well help the club in a European push.
MESSINA
Messina kept their place in the top league thanks to Juventus' Serie B relegation for the match fixing scandal. The Sicilians suffered relegation but were handed a reprieve by the authorities.
New coach Bruno Giordano has moved to strengthen the squad, with striker Christian Rigano, defender Mark Iuliano, and midfielders Alvarez and Ogasawara interesting recruits.
The club, though, are likely to enter the new season more in hope than expectation and it could be a campaign of toil.
MILAN
Milan start the season eight points adrift, but this will prove no real obstacle and some believe they could well be title challengers.
The Rossoneri were somewhat circumspect in the transfer market, with Daniele Bonera, Ricardo Oliveira, Giuseppe Favalli and Yoann Gourcouff their only captures. And this, coupled with the departure of Andrei Shevchenko has left many fans scratching their heads.
Alberto Gilardino and Filippo Inzaghi are likely to take on the striking roles following the departure of Shevchenko, although new boy Oliveira could have something to say about this, but their hopes are likely to rest on how well Brazilian superstar Kaka performs.
PALERMO
Palermo were major movers in the summer market, signalling president Maurizio Zamparini's desire to take the club forward.
Coach Francesco Guidolin is back in charge after a year's absence and he will have a number of new players to work with.
Brazilian Amauri arrived in the final hours of the window and will have a key role to play. Cesare Bovo, Mark Bresciano, Aimo Diana, and Roberto Guana have also arrived and with a number of the big players starting the season in negative numbers, Palermo could be the surprise package.
PARMA
Parma defied the critics and financial troubles to secure a top-half finish last term and they will be looking to repeat the dose.
A number of key players have moved on, notably Daniele Bonera, Bernardo Corradi, Marco Marchionni, Mark Bresciano, Fabio Simplicio and Sebastien Frey, but coach Stefano Pioli still has a useful squad at his disposal.
Piolo is likely to give youth a chance in the new campaign, but he will look to experienced signings Luca Bucci, Domenico Morfeo and Giuseppe Cardone to aid their progress.
Igor Budan, Vitali Kutuzov and Zlatan Muslimovic are solid attacking captures and they will be charged with the task of keeping them in the top half of the table.
REGGINA
Reggina are among the favourites to go down, as they start the season 15 points adrift due to the match fixing polemics.
There has been little movement in the transfer market and coach Walter Mazzarri will have to mastermind the great escape with the majority of players he worked with last term
ROMA
Roma are considered the main challengers to Inter in the title race and coach Luciano Spalletti has made a number of shrewd signings.
Mirko Vucinic and David Pizarro are the most notable captures and they will add real quality in the attacking third.
Marco Cassetti, Max Tonetto, Rodrigo Defendi, Gilberto Martinez have also come in, while Matteo Ferrari has returned from a loan spell at Everton, and the squad looks strong even with the departures of Olivier Dacourt, Cesare Bovo, Edgar Alvarez, Mido and Sammy Kuffour.
Captain and talisman Francesco Totti proved at the World Cup he is over the broken ankle he suffered last term and he will be targeting a scudetto.
SAMPDORIA
Sampdoria have made a number of changes over the summer, with coach Walter Novellino injecting some youth into his squad.
Ruben Olivera, Gennaro Delvecchio, Massimo Bonanni, Christian Maggio, Daniele Franceschini and Fabio Quagliarella have been brought to the Luigi Ferraris and with Emiliano Bonazzoli and Fabio Bazzani fit again, hopes are high for the new term.
Francesco Flachi, Giulio Falcone and Sergio Volpi will look to bring on the youngsters and the blend of youth and experience could see Samp flourish.
SIENA
Siena's best piece of business was to keep hold of Erjon Bodgani and the Albanian will look to spark their battle to avoid the drop.
The club made few waves in the transfer market, but they did add a touch of experience in Alex Manninger, Vincent Candela, Valerio Bertotto and Paul Codrea to replace departed quartet Igor Tudor, Nicola Legrottaglie, Paolo Foglio and Gianluca Falsini.
Much will depend on the form of Bodgani and Enrico Chiesa, but coach Mario Beretta is quietly confident of staving off the threat of relegation.
TORINO
Of the Serie A newcomers, Torino were the most active in the transfer market but their summer efforts were overshadowed by the departure of coach Gianni De Biasi just days before the start of the season.
De Biasi was axed by president Urbano Cairo and replaced with Alberto Zaccheroni and this is sure to have an effect on the squad, notably new recruits Christian Abbiati, Gianluca Comotto, Giuseppe Pancaro, Simone Barone, Stefano Fiore, Masashi Oguro and Axel Konan.
The talk in Turin is on avoiding the drop, but the club have often held lofty ambitions and they could well be looking to push for Europe
UDINESE
Udinese did not make huge investments in the summer, with their focus being on preserving their impressive squad.
Offers for Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale, Sulley Muntari and Felipe were fended off and coach Giovanni Galeone is happy with the options available to him.
Galeone is delighted to have continuity and is eager to improve on last term's 13th-place finish.
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