Photo via Pexels
Inter Milan are defending their Serie A title in 2026-27, but Napoli and Juventus are closer than expected. We assess Italy's most competitive league season in years.
Serie A has not been this competitively close at the top in almost a decade. Inter Milan, Serie A champions in 2024-25 and 2025-26, are top of the table after ten gameweeks but only two points ahead of Napoli and four ahead of Juventus, who have finally found something approaching the coherent football that has eluded them since their financial and sporting difficulties earlier in the decade.
Inter's summer was complicated by the departure of one of their key defenders to the Premier League and uncertainty over the future of their creative midfielder, who signed a contract extension only after protracted negotiations. Despite this, Simone Inzaghi's side have started well: seven wins, two draws, and one narrow defeat against Napoli in a match that could prove season-defining.
Lautaro Martinez, captain and talisman, has eight Serie A goals in ten games — a remarkable return for a striker who, at 29, is approaching the peak of his powers. His partnership with an Argentine teenager promoted from Inter's Primavera squad — a decision that raised eyebrows in pre-season — has been the revelation of Serie A so far.
Conte, who guided Napoli to their historic Serie A title in 2022-23, returned to the club this summer after two seasons in the Premier League. His reappearance has galvanised a squad that had underperformed badly after that title triumph, and Napoli now play with the defensive intensity and direct attacking football that characterised Conte's best teams. Victor Osimhen, whose future was the subject of a summer saga involving multiple Premier League clubs, remains at the club and has scored nine goals in nine appearances. If Napoli can sustain this for another twenty games, their title challenge is genuine.
Juventus's recovery from the points deductions and financial sanctions of 2022-23 has been slow. But in 2026-27, with a new manager settled into his second full season and a squad that for the first time in years has genuine depth and quality in central midfield, there are signs of a club returning to something like its former self. Dusan Vlahovic leads their attack with seven goals, and their defensive record — the joint-best in Italy alongside Inter — suggests Juventus are capable of grinding through the second half of the season in the manner that Italian football traditionally rewards.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Newcastle are all in the Champions League this season. After the group stage, here's an honest assessment of each club's European prospects.
Newcastle are in the Champions League for the second consecutive year, and they are performing better than their debut campaign. We assess whether a quarter-final run is achievable.
Chelsea and Aston Villa are England's representatives in the 2026-27 Europa League. After the group stage, we assess which club has a realistic shot at the final in Bilbao.