It’s almost time to do it all again. The 2023-24 Serie A season gets underway on Saturday evening, and our writers have decided to make fools of themselves again.
The 2022-23 season was a tough one to call as none of us called Napoli winning the league, yet the upcoming one might be even tougher given the sheer amount of overhaul not just at Milan but around the league in general.
As a disclaimer to this, there is still just under two weeks of the mercato remaining at the time of publishing, which will very much feed into some of the calls that the staff have made.
Without further ado, Oliver, Anthony, Isak, Madison, Stefano, Lorenzo, Ahmed, Maxi, Ivan, Rohit, Nikita and Euan.
Where Milan will finish
Oli: 3rd. Milan have made several smart signings and should have a better starting XI and squad on paper which will get them into the top four more comfortably. However, all these names need time to adapt and gel, something the first 10 games doesn’t really afford and as a result a 20th Scudetto feels like a tall order.
Anthony: 1st. I have a sneaking suspicion that we can make the push so long as our new players mesh quickly. The first 10 games is the test. We need our defense to glue back together and it’s a wrap.
Isak: 2nd. I don’t think our team is good enough to win the league, not yet anyway. The new signings will need time and Pioli’s new system, even if a lot is the same, could hold us back at the beginning.
Madison: 1st, I think that with the additions to the attack and if Pioli can get the tactics right we can run the league.
Stefano: 1st place. Management invested in the positions of need from last season. Our attack has a new dynamic and although we’re a bit light at the DM spot until Bennacer returns, I think we have enough talent here. It will all ride on how consistent Tomori and Thiaw can be in central defence.
Lorenzo: 2nd. Look, I genuinely believe this years Scudetto is a two horse race, between Milan and Juve, but even with the added depth, we still don’t quite have enough to do well in UCL and the league, we will want to go deep in the UCL again and therefore with Juve not having Europe at all and the other top teams weakening imo. It’s just a stretch to say 2nd star this year.
Ahmed: 3rd, a lot of turnover and uncertainty in midfield.
Maxi: 1st.
Ivan: 1st.
Rohit: 2nd. The preseason has made me a bit skeptical. Sure Milan plugged a lot of holes in the mercato but the team chemistry still needs to be developed. A lot will depend on whether Okafor can be fit for the season as Giroud seems to be slowly fading away.
Nikita: 3rd.
Euan: 1st, as the best of a bad bunch. At least at this stage of the window, does anyone else look very scary?
Rajath: 3rd.
Champions League and Coppa Italia
Oli: We are going in blind with the UCL given the draw hasn’t been done yet, but I think Milan – by virtue of being in pot three – get a challenging group that they finish runners-up in and then draw a tough side in the round of 16 and go out.
They will get to the semi-finals in the Coppa Italia, before losing over two legs to Inter. Again.
Anthony: My confidence only extends so far as I feel we won’t find success in this year’s Champions League. I have a smelly hunch of a ‘group of death’ draw for us and we crash and burn. I do however think we drop to Europa and make it look easy until it isn’t, and finish in the semi-finals of Europa league.
As for Coppa Italia, also a semi final exit, likely after another depressing defeat to Inter.
Isak: Quarters in the UCL and semis in the Coppa.
Madison: Round of 16 in UCL, win the Coppa.
Stefano: Champions League, quarters. Coppa, semi-final.
Lorenzo: My heart says quarter-final but my head says round of 16, and subsequently it will result in the sacking of Pioli. Finals of Coppa.
Ahmed: Semi-finals of both.
Ivan: Semis in Coppa, final in UCL.
Rohit: UCL quarters, Coppa semis.
Nikita: Last 16 of UCL, and semis of Coppa.
Euan: I reckon Milan could fall foul to a bigger side in the Champions League round of 16 this season, but that won’t feel too dramatic if they are going well in Serie A.
A confident side tends to win the Coppa Italia, so if I stick with my assumption Milan will do well in Serie A, let’s say they’ll win the Coppa too.
Scudetto winner
Oli: Inter. They have the best midfield in the league, they did lose two or three players but Brozovic and Skriniar for example had been phased out by their strong end to the season anyway. Lautaro will keep banging them in, Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 remains a constant and they will be more consistent.
Anthony: Milan. For the reasons said above.
Isak: Lazio. I’m probably going against a majority of the predictions here but they were incredibly solid last season, especially against smaller sides and those wins are crucial. It’s a longshot still, of course.
Madison: See above.
Stefano: Milan. Same reasons as above.
Lorenzo: Juve. As above, with no Europe and a generally strong 11, even though they haven’t strengthened per se, I don’t think they’ve weakened and the players seem to actually be on board with Allegri now.
Ahmed: Napoli, lost Kim but strengthened in midfield and kept star attackers.
Maxi: Milan. For me it was originally between the Milano clubs. I think both of them never reached their best level in Serie A last season. Napoli was the deserved winner and would’ve won regardless, but the gap down wouldn’t be as big as it became.
But after Inter lost Brozovic and Lukaku they dropped as favourites for me. Milan have signed so that the squad has both higher quality and has more depth. Once everything gels and relations are established on the pitch I think this will be very good.
Ivan: Milan. As it stands I feel like Milan have strengthened the most compared to their rivals, who will have an arguably weaker side this time around (Inter and Napoli) and with the depth the management has added it might be Milan’s year yet again.
Rohit: Inter. Make no mistake, they are financially in dire straits but they have retained their core and Inzaghi is a very good tactician. Brozovic maybe gone but they still have Barella, Lautaro. I would have gone with Napoli but with Spaletti, Kim and potentially Zielinski leaving I’m not sure they can keep up with last season.
Nikita: Inter.
Euan: Milan. Lots of the new signings make a lot of sense and should immediately improve the first team.
Rajath: Napoli.
Top four in order
Oli: Inter, Napoli, Milan, Lazio. Napoli have kept their two big guns up front and Garcia isn’t the colossal change some are making out stylistically, while Lazio have lost SMS but might just have got better in the aggregate with some smart business.
Anthony: Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Roma.
Isak: Lazio, Milan, Napoli, Inter.
Madison: Milan, Napoli, Inter, Juve.
Stefano: Milan, Napoli, Inter, Lazio. I think all four of these sides have either had a great summer for signings and kept a core of players which allowed them to succeed last season.
Lorenzo: Juve, Milan, Napoli, Inter.
Ahmed: Napoli, Inter, Milan, Juventus. Juve thoroughly uninspiring but I can’t ignore the way they kept winning last season.
Maxi: Milan, Inter, Napoli, Juventus.
Ivan: Milan, Inter, Napoli, Juventus.
Rohit: Inter, Milan, Napoli, Lazio.
Nikita: Inter, Juve, Milan, Napoli.
Euan: Milan, Inter, Juve, Napoli. Inter have made a couple of good signings but they seem set to lack quality depth up front. Juve only have the league to worry about but their summer has been poor, Napoli will regress under Rudi Garcia but still have wonderful players.
Rajath: Napoli, Inter, Milan, Juve.
5th, 6th, 7th
Oli: Juventus, Roma, Atalanta. Make no mistake, Juve are still coming into the season with a fair bit of chaos overhanging them. No Europe will help, but I think things turn sour with Allegri if he can’t keep those 1-0 wins going. Roma are Dybala and Dybala can’t stay fit. Atalanta are a real wild card.
Anthony: Lazio, Inter, Monza.
Isak: Juventus, Atalanta, Roma.
Madison: Roma, Atalanta, Lazio.
Stefano: Juventus, Atalanta, Roma. Not enough here from these three sides for me to be convinced they’ll get top four.
Lorenzo: Roma, Atalanta, Lazio. Roma will be solid, but drop short due to lack of depth, but starting 11 is strong. Atalanta, CDK will actually get a handful of goals, so that will help. Lazio will struggle with the out SMS, but will have enough for Europe.
Ahmed: Lazio, Atalanta, Roma. Love Lazio’s business, Roma absolute disaster.
Maxi: Roma, Lazio, Atalanta.
Ivan: Roma, Atalanta, Lazio.
Rohit: Atalanta, Juve, Roma.
Nikita: Lazio, Atalanta, Roma.
Euan: Lazio, Roma, Atalanta. Lazio will struggle without SMS, Roma need to make a few late deals happen to move up this list, and Atalanta will start strong and level out again.
Rajath: Atalanta, Lazio, Roma.
Relegated teams
Oli: Empoli, Frosinone, Lecce. Empoli the most notable pick here and I feel very confident with that one. They have lost key players and haven’t replaced them. Their difficulties scoring will only get worse.
Anthony: Not sure on the order but the three will be Hellas Verona, Lecce, and Frosinone.
Isak: Torino, Salernitana, Frosinone.
Madison: Verona, Salernitana, Lecce.
Stefano: Frosinone, Cagliari, Hellas Verona.
Lorenzo: Cagliari, Frosinone, Verona.
Ahmed: Frosinone, Lecce, Hellas Verona. Lecce losing Hjulmand, Umititi, Colombo is debilitating
Maxi: Frosinone, Cagliari, Verona. I think they are quite frankly the three big candidates seen to quality of their squads.
Ivan: Frosinone, Salernitana, Lecce.
Rohit: Lecce, Frosinone, Empoli.
Nikita: Verona, Frosinone, Lecce.
Euan: Verona, Cagliari, Lecce. Two of these teams were fortunate not to go last season so will likely be down there again, and I don’t like Cagliari.
Rajath: Frosinone, Salernitana, Hellas.
Capocannoniere
Oli: If Victor Osimhen remains fit and plays 35+ games, it will be him. But I don’t think he will, so I’m going for Lautaro Martinez. As the undisputed leader of Inter’s attack he will be the finisher and I can see him going above 25 goals.
Anthony: If Isimhen can stay healthy then him, if not then probably that fraud Immobile again.
Isak: Ciro Immobile. He didn’t reach his usual standard last year and this could be one of his last chances to really shine, aged 33.
Madison: Osimhen.
Stefano: Osimhen. Not hard to reason this. The best striker in Italy.
Lorenzo: Osimhen. I see him scoring around 24 goals.
Ahmed: Osimhen.
Maxi: Victor Osimhen. With his skillset and the delivery he’ll have I think he’ll be tough to beat.
Ivan: Leao.
Rohit: Osimhen.
Nikita: Osimhen.
Euan: Lautaro Martinez. He’s always there or thereabouts, and he could get even more minutes this season.
Rajath: Osimhen.
Milan’s top scorer
Oli: Leao. Being able to spread the attack more over to the right and also having midfield presence means that ‘just double team Leao’ should not be a viable option any more. With that extra space – plus a natural growth in consistency – should come more goals. I’ll even say he gets 20+ in all comps.
Anthony: Leao will continue to score more than anyone else but I do think it will be close if Okafor becomes the starting striker.
Isak: Rafael Leao. A rather easy pick given that Olivier Giroud struggled last season and the Frenchman will also have a lot more competition this year.
Madison: Leao.
Stefano: Leao. With Milan still lacking a true number 9 at a younger age, I feel Rafa will edge this over the likes of Giroud, Okafor and Chukwueze.
Lorenzo: Leao.
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Rafael Leão. With two important players in Tonali and Ibrahimovic gone I think Leão will take and thrive off of more responsibility.
Ivan: Leao. I think this season his growth will continue and with the additions in attack the opposition will be forced to think about keeping other players at bay as well, allowing Leao to have an even bigger impact.
Rohit: Leao.
Nikita: Leao.
Euan: Rafael Leao. He’s settled now and should have better players around him, Leao will ramp things up this season.
Rajath: Leao.
Milan’s most assists
Oli: Leao, for the same reasons as I think he will get more goals. His decision making has room for improvement and thus, like his other attributes have, I believe it will improve.
Anthony: Pulisic. With 8 days until the season starts, Christian has managed 6 assists, 3 ‘hockey assists’, won 2 penalties and scored 1 goal. Not a bad preseason from my Yankee Doodle brother.
Isak: It would make sense to say Leao here too, but in the interest of diversity I will say Tijjani Reijnders.
Madison: Leao.
Stefano: Leao. I’m tempted to put Pulisic or Reijnders but with the consistency of Rafa playing and how creative he’s been in the past I feel he’ll better his team mates on assists.
Lorenzo: Chuk baby! I see around 10-13 assists.
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Christian Pulisic. Always think Pulisic has been a good player, but injuries and other circumstanced stopped him at Chelsea. Throughout pre-season he’s been great creatively and recorded quite a few assists. The opposition has been what it has been, but the indications of a good creator is there.
Ivan: Leao. Again I think he’ll have more to work with in terms of his attacking partners this season and he will provide much much more.
Rohit: Pulisic.
Nikita: Leao.
Euan: Rafael Leao. Just by being generally great, he’ll end up with the most assists again too.
Rajath: Leao.
Milan’s player of the season
Oli: Leao. Hard to be top of goals and assists and then not win it.
Anthony: It will always be Leao. Don’t expect anyone new to pop up as the top dog for a while.
Isak: Mike Maignan. The defence looked a bit shaky in pre-season and the goalkeeper will have to shine.
Madison: Leao.
Stefano: Leao. Rafa for me is expected to make another lunge into becoming a truly world class player. For me it comes down to consistency at this point and I’m expecting improvements on that front. Hopefully with greater players around him in attack it will improve his stats across the board.
Lorenzo: Leao.
Ahmed: Leao.
Maxi: Rafael Leão. Same reasons as why I think he’ll be Milan’s top scorer, really.
Ivan: Leao.
Rohit: Reijnders. My favourite mercato signing.
Nikita: Leao.
Euan: Leao. I’ve given most goals and assists so let’s make him player of the season too. No pressure, Rafa.
Rajath: Maignan.
Milan’s breakout player
Oli: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Perhaps he is already an established name, but his last two years at Chelsea saw him fade into obscurity. Make no mistake about it, if he stays fit he will be a problem in Serie A with his physicality, his stride and even his eye for goal if he gets going early.
Anthony: Reijnders. Tijjani was not a household name before his Milan move this summer but come next summer, he will be.
Isak: Pierre Kalulu. It feels like he could get the nod quite often on the right flank and this could help him ‘revive’ his career.
Madison: Musah (USA! USA! USA!).
Stefano: Reijnders. With so many arrivals with high expectations it’s hard to label who exactly this person can be. Reijnders however has shown excellent promise pre season and is the catalyst for many attacks. Not many of us knew who he was last season and I feel he’ll have a campaign where he gains more attention from Europe due to his excellent technical abilities.
Lorenzo: Romero. If he gets minuets, (AHEM, Pioli…) he will shine, top talent.
Ahmed: Thiaw, first time he’ll be a starter so he counts I think.
Maxi: If Lorenzo Colombo stays and gets a few chances I think he could be the breakout player. Showed big promise at Lecce in Serie A last season and could make a difference at Milan with his physique and sharp finishing. If not I think Tijjani Reijnders will become a name known on a larger scale than before.
Ivan: This is an interesting one since we haven’t invested into a youngster this time around as heavily as we did with De Keteleare. I want to go with Colombo in the case he does indeed stay.
Considering Giroud’s age I think he’ll get plenty of time and with Leao and Chukwueze on the wings he won’t lack the service to rack up some goals.
The other one to watch out for is Romero, who has had some good moments in pre-season and is just 18 years old, but is already showing great talent.
It will be hard for him to get a lot of game time given that Chukwueze will most likely be the starting XI, but depending on the formation and wether or not Pulisic will be a backup RW or a starting CAM he may have more time to shine.
Rohit: Luka Romero. Somehow I believe in this little guy. No flashy skills, likes to keep it simple but extremely direct style of play.
Nikita: Luka Romero.
Euan: Malick Thiaw. Sounds odd given he kind of broke out last season, but I think he will be consistently good all season and end as the first choice alongside Tomori.
Rajath: Reijnders.
Why do people praise juve like they are suddenly a contender? They have made one like or like signing. YA they have nothing to play for? Neither did they last year. Their coach is allegri who plays the most boring football. He had chiesa playing as a win back for half a season! His football isn’t suddenly going to be appealing and attacking. They’re lucky to get top 4.
As a milan fan, if this team can gel quickly and pioli isn’t ignorant in his choices and tactics, I see a real shot in the scudetto. Itll all depend on the first 10 games and consistency.
If not, I can see inter and napoli going for it. As much as I hate inter they too depend on their coach not making mistakes like last season which inzaghi seemed to get it right in the last couple of months of the season. They seem to be our kryptonite too which bothers me but all in all, I hope for a fantastic season from the boys. Can’t wait for it to start!
I could be wrong, we’re only guessing at this point, but for me…
Juventus solved a lot of their problems last season and ended it strongly until their points ban was given back to them.
They’ve got a settled first 11 and, the biggest thing to me, they won’t be playing any midweek European fixtures. Every other top side will be playing in Europe so Juve will have a week to rest and prepare whereas Milan and everyone else will have a few days.
They also have potentially Pogba back and, even not at his best, he’s a good ‘new signing’. Asking Weah to replace di Maria is a very big ask and he may struggle but I do have a lot of belief in him and I was hoping we’d sign him (I didn’t think Chukwueze was realistic).
Great to have a competitive league and have these questions though. Unlike Germany, England and France and even in Spain it’s a choice of two or three.
Juve had 3rd best defense last year. They have a strong attack that has not been firing on all cylinders but if it does they’ll maul.
Midfield isn’t bad either. Not losing Rabiot was a huge boost 4 the prison gang.
Also they have no European games which means the players will he more fresh than of Milan, inter, napoli and lazio.
Sure max is a bit of a clown coach but he has won titles before and is not to be underestimated
The „prison gang“ haha. nice One!
I don’t doubt their squad cause they have good individuals. I doubt allegri and his horrible tactics
he does play cr@p football but they win dont they?
We should be glad they dont have a better coach
Not one writer thinking Milan will finish lower than 3rd! Surprises me – I think anywhere in top 4 is an acceptable season, Inter and Juve should be strong favourites, especially with Juventus out of Europe.
I felt by the end of last season Milan were close to Napoli, but we’re going to need a lot of the team to gel very quickly to be able to challenge them.
Roma and Atalanta look stronger, I think Lazio may struggle to replace SMS in the short-term.
For me:
1. Juventus
2. Inter
3. Napoli
4. Milan
5. Atalanta
6. Roma
7. Fiorentina
8. Lazio
Yes the staff are highly optimistic. We have excitings signings though but … the others have a more unchanged base something which won us the Scudetto
Well the writers have been the ones demanding all these signings and pumping out endless content on transfers so they can’t very say it was all a terrible idea!
We were better than Napoli in the games we played them last season (2 wins, 1 draw and an unlucky defeat) but struggled against inter and…..Cremonese….
We changed a third of the squad (I’ll stop saying half as it seems we’ll settle on 8-10 new signings…) to figure out how to beat….Cremonese.
Yup – still trying to fix the damage done by your beloved’s last two transfer windows…
Yes those transfer windows also did damage as do most transfer windows…
Had we signed 1 player last season v 9 we’d have been better off.
Probably the best transfer window we’ve had in the past 15 years is the one we signed Ibra and Kjaer. Those transformative signings were high impact with minimal disruption which set us up for the title.
I hope I’m wrong but this transfer window is very reminiscent of 17/18 (possibly worse because none of the players have Serie A experience). We finished 7th that season. If we end up doing the same this season can we at least learn the lesson once and for all?
Have to agree here somewhat. We were at the stage of additions not revolution especially in the starting XI. But it’s new management vision. Tactics beat Cremonese. We need something that can u tie the low block and Poli simply can’t
Hhhh Milan is better than all Italians team and we will prove it.
1.Milan
2.inter
3.napoli
4.Lazio
5.Atlanta
6.juventus
7.Roma
8.Fiorentina
Hhhhhhhhhj😂
Assuming staff is under 30 years old.
As is. Outside top 4.
Juve
Napoli
Inter
Atalanta/Roma
Maybe 4 if CL exit is early and some smarter signings are made
Juve
Napoli
Inter
Milan
Don’t forget Milan had a DREADFUL January. The likelihood of us going on such a long run of bad results again is slim. We have improved more than any other squad so putting us comfortably in the top 4 is perfectly logical.
Sorry if this is a double post, I have difficulties posting for some reason.
I think we can really make a case for any teams this season. Every teams seemed to have some sort of their own limitations and strength. Personally, I would give this lot time, anything on top 4 would be great. But, considering that we spent the most this season, of course this would generate its own pressure, one poor game is all it takes for the press to lambast us. Hopefully, everyone would react positively.
The first 10 games are brutal, and might be the canary in the coalmine on how the season might go. If we’re in the vicinity of top 3, I would probably be a lot more confident then.
1 milan
2 inter
3 Napoli
4 Lazio
milan or inter will win the scudetto
Get involved below! 👇
Where Milan will finish:
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia:
Scudetto winner:
Top four in order:
5th, 6th, 7th:
Relegated teams:
Capocannoniere:
Milan’s top scorer:
Milan’s most assists:
Milan’s player of the season:
Milan’s breakout player:
🤦♂️ after I took time tkt carve it out lol 😅
Milan will play in the Coppa semi-final this season after last years abysmal performance. I doubt we will recreate the same UCL success but expect us to play in the knockout rounds. Unlike last season the Scudetto winner will be determined late, perhaps even in the last game.
Where Milan will finish: 5th
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia: no idea, depends on the draw. Happy with the last 16 UCL
Scudetto winner: Juventus
Top four in order: Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Atalanta
5th, 6th, 7th: Milan, Roma, Fiorentina
Relegated teams: not seen enough of the new ones
Capocannoniere: Vlahovic
Milan’s top scorer: Leao
Milan’s most assists: Reijnders
Milan’s player of the season: Leao
Milan’s breakout player: Does Reijnders count?
Where Milan will finish: 1st. Honestly anywhere in top 4 is a success this season given the change, but if we can get past 10 first games with at least 6 wins we can dream big.
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia:
UCL : Quarter Final.
Coppa : Finalist, possibly Winner.
Scudetto winner: Milan.
Top four in order: Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Inter.
5th, 6th, 7th: Lazio, Roma, Atalanta
Relegated teams: Lecce, Frosinone, Verona
Capocannoniere: Osimhen.
Milan’s top scorer: Leao
Milan’s most assists: Tijjani Reijnders
Milan’s player of the season: Leao
Milan’s breakout player: Reijnders
Ok here’s me being optimistic:
Where Milan will finish: 4th or 1st!
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia:
No idea but if I’m being optimistic – well semi-finals???
Scudetto winner: Juve or Milan (if I’m being hopelessly optimistic).
Actually isn’t this just the perfect face off for the competing theories?
Juve = Stability/Milan = Revolution.
If Juve win can we stop calling for revolutions?
Top four in order: Juve/Milan, Inter, Roma, Juve/Milan
5th, 6th, 7th: Atalanta, Lazio and one surprise package.
Relegated teams: No idea but of Milan do get released then we need to ban transfers!
Capocannoniere: No idea.
Can’t see it being any Milan players. I guess Vlahovic woud have to be if Juve are to stand a chance.
Colombo to be loaned to a Serie A side and show what he can do!
Milan’s top scorer: Probably Leao unless he’s crowded out but if he struggles I’m not sure where the goals are going to come from as I can’t see Giroud being sustainable. Actually it’s a bit of a mess up top which is mindboggling given we’ve signed 8 players!
I might change my predictions! I think we’ll be lucky to finish in the top 4!
Milan’s most assists: Pulisic.
Milan’s player of the season: Chukwueze (why not!)
Milan’s breakout player: I’m going to be cheeky and say CDK!
Where Milan will finish: Pioli’s 433 will get us to finish 6th or much worse. But 4231 will surely guarantee top 4.
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia: Second round UCL probably. Coppa Italia is a gamble. No predictions there.
Scudetto winner: Inter looks likely. Juve is a contender. Everyone for some reason is bashing Allegri.. but if he has the backing of the team, Allegri gets results.
Top four in order: Inter/Juve, Roma, Milan.
5th, 6th, 7th: Napoli, Atalanta, Lazio.
Relegated teams: No predictions.
Capocannoniere: Osimhen/Leao.
Milan’s top scorer: Leao.
Milan’s most assists: Reijnders
Milan’s player of the season: Mike.
Milan’s breakout player: Thiaw/Chuku.
Where Milan will finish:
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia:
Scudetto winner:
Top four in order:
5th, 6th, 7th:
Relegated teams:
Capocannoniere:
Milan’s top scorer:
Milan’s most assists:
Milan’s player of the season:
Milan’s breakout player:
Scudetto: Milan.
Serie A has never been this weak and this even. Milan has the most individual talent and it’s all about meshing together.
The rest of the team have all taken a step back by either losing their best players or coach in Napoli case.
Top 4: Milan, Juventus, inter, Napoli.
5,6,7 Roma, Lazlo, Atalanta in no particular order
Capocannoniere: Leao.
Putting the pressure on.
Time to man up.
He has All the tangible talent in the world but let’s see if he has finally acquired some of the intangibles.
20 goals are the MINIMUM.
Got paid , got help on the other side, got midfielders that can actually pass the ball besides just running. NO EXCUSES.
Milan most assists: Reijnders.
His ability to send those through ball passes will allow Leao free runs behind the defense several times a game. ( IF Leao reads the game and make the run instead of waiting on the ball just so he can go 1v1).
Milan player of the season; Leao.
No more disappearing acts for games, weeks and months.
Pressure is on him especially with Zlatan, Maldini and Tonali gone.
Pressure makes diamonds,
but it also burst pipes. Hopefully it’s the former.
Milan breakout player: Loftus Cheek.
He will bully serie A.
Dude is a beast and is a complete midfielder. I’m expecting a Nocerino 2011/12 kind of season from RLC. 10 goals from the midfield.
Shoot I forgot Napoli lost their coach🤦♂️. Might need to update my picks
Lovely to see that you said something positive about star man Leao today.
For me ….
1 AC MILAN …With loads of goals from ..yes Olivier Giroud and Rafeol leao
2 inter milan
3 juventus
4 Napoli
Holy Oli, you had a few of my choice picks and also the reasons for them
I’ll post a template here if anyone wants to use.
Where Milan will finish:
Scudetto winner:
Top 4 order:
5th to 7:
Top goalscorer serie a:
Top goalscorer Milan:
Most assists Milan:
Player of the season:
Breakout player:
Where Milan will finish: 4th (best 3rd, but 5th isn’t out of the question). Too many changes, season start is unkind, players need to gel and when we get kicked out of Europe the hope is that we don’t get Europa committments in January.
Scudetto winner: Inter (lost brozovic but not Barella who is more important imo….also replaced Broz with Fratessi. Less changes as well, Juve still young though but can also win)
Top 4 order: Inter, Juve, Napoli, Milan (but Roma and Lazio also possible)
5th to 7: Milan/Roma, Lazio, Atalanta
Top goalscorer serie a: oshimen if he isn’t injured
Top goalscorer Milan: Leao, we’re dependent on him but I hope we eventually get out of reverting to the hoist it to Leao tactics
Most assists Milan: Leao or Tijji but likely Leao
Player of the season: Leao ofc of he’s the top scorer
Breakout player: not sure here but lots to choose from. I think Romero might be the surprise.
Forgot UCL and Copa.
UCL: out of group stages. Europa for a few more rounds
Copa: Semis…might make final as it might be only trophy to get this year
Anyone who seriously thinks Milan will win the league needs to take a long hard look at themselves. A lot of these new signings are rejects from other teams and/or untried at the top top level. Spent a lot of money on average players whilst this site tries to big them up. I hope I am wrong, I really do…..
Lol 😂😂😂
When you try to explain that to the folks here you’re one of more of these things: Maldini lover, new management hater, Club hater, Inter Supporter, stupid, moron, idiot, clueless
They bigged up Adli last year the same way too. I believe we’re in deeper doodoo than I’d like to admit. It’s going to be a tough season. As you said I hope they do well but I’ve been through many years
Also love the username
Pulisic better than Diaz? Yes
Chukwueze better than Messias? Yes
Okafor better than Rebic/Origi? Yes
You can call these footballers rejects, sure. Salah is a Chelsea reject as well.
De Bruyne got into 9 matches at Stanford Bridge before being moved on.
This Milan team are much better on paper this year than last. I think the Scudetto will be decided late, perhaps even the last match day.
By the same logic what happens if our “rejects” turn out to be a Salah or De Bruyne?
In fact doesn’t the fact that these players were once rejects and ended up performing once they found the right conditions tell you that finding the right conditions is more important than finding the right players?
If the conditions are wrong no player will perform (see Milan from circa 13/14 to for 19/20).
If the conditions are right any player can perform (see Juve from circa 11/12 to 20/21).
That is why I tend to focus more on the average players than the stars.
If the average players are performing then it indicates the team is playing close to its potential.
Transfers won’t fix the problem if it’s the system and could compound it. Like piling more bricks on a house built on sand.
Last year we did ok but we had some specific issues particularly in the second half of the season after our collapse against Roma.
Only 1/9 of last season’s transfers managed to integrate into the side, previously performing players didn’t reach the same level including Florenzi and Rebic, and we didn’t manage to promote a single primavera player.
A lot of the responsibility for that rests on Pioli, and he’s the one change we haven’t made….
Pirlo was a “reject” from Inter… I don’t get this argument at all.
So you accept that arbitrarily rating players best on current form isn’t particularly insightful?
Why do you only reserve your optimism for new signings rather than the players who helped win the title?
Because Chukwueze is “better” than Messias for example. The guy who fluffed his lines against Inter in the CL. There’s not much point discussing this – you obviously think we didn’t need to upgrade anyone and I don’t so that’s fine.
*And I do
I think already explained we needed to upgrade on the right but anyway…..
Just out of curiosity though when Messias was playing in midfield and helping Milan beat Napoli to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League (no less) where was Chukwueze?
Oh he’d already been knocked out of the Europa Conference League…..
I hope we appoint a good tactician, one who trains the squad to play some attractive team game after 5-7 matches this season.
We can still win the scudetto if we lose/draw first five matches by appointing a top coach considering the competitiveness of serie a this time. We bought better players but badly needs a quality coach to gel the team and take out the burden from leao’s legs.
Pioli fans got no excuse this time having got the best sqad in seriea.
– Where Milan finish:
3rd. I believe this season will be harder than most seem to think. Maybe it’s just my pessimism, but I always feel that integrating a large number of players can be a tough job for any coach, and Pioli is no exception. Squads around us have improved, Lazio and Roma are both going to be more competitive after some smart business, Napoli will as always play fantastic attacking football, even with a change in coach, Inter may struggle after losing some key players but will always be a thorn in our side, then there’s Juve who are still in rough shape but with no European football this season their focus will entirely be on the league. My worry is the hardest part to integrate new players is at the start of the season, and our start is seriously tough. If we don’t hit the ground running, we might end up losing a lot of points and be in rough shape come Christmas. On the other hand, I feel good about our attack for the first time in a long time, we just need to hope that our back line has shaken off the cobwebs of last season.
– How far Milan go in UCL and Coppa:
UCL: Quarter finals – It’s really impossible to predict without knowing our groups etc, but I think in some ways we were fortunate to reach the semi’s last season. However, if our attack can gel nice and early, we have the potential to become a force going forward and cause some trouble.
Coppa Italia: Winners – I think we have the squad to win it this year, well…we always have but we always seem to fuck it up somehow. I think Pioli knows that we can’t afford to half ass it again this year and if our UCL hopes are slashed fairly early, I think he’ll go strong in the coppa. On paper, it’s not a difficult competition to win given how late Milan join it, I say it every season but there aren’t any excuses for Milan to not AT LEAST reach the semis.
– Scudetto winner:
Napoli. I just think regardless of their coaching change and the loss of Kim, their scouting is near enough perfect each year. I have no doubt they’ll replace him and also improve other areas. Osimhen and Kvara are absolutely brilliant and some of the best in their positions around the world. Their style of football won’t change much from last season, they’ll continue their high tempo, attacking, pressing approach which most teams struggle to handle and I think they’ll ride this wave of momentum well.
– Top four:
1. Napoli
2. Inter
3. Milan
4. Lazio
– 5th, 6th, 7th:
5. Juve
6. Roma
7. Bologna
– Relegated teams:
Frosinone, Hellas Verona, Lecce
– Capocannoniere:
Victor Osimhen
– Milan top scorer:
Leao, but keep an eye on Giroud. If he can keep up (big if) with Chuk and Leao and get used to their patterns of play, he can seriously rack up some big numbers.
– Milan most assists:
Leao
– Milan MVP:
Leao. I think this will be a huge year for Leao. I expect him to be on his way next summer for a huge fee.
– Milan’s breakout player
Reijnders. I think Milan have signed a massive talent here. He play’s completely different to any other midfielder in the squad, constantly looking for forward passes, his first time passing is excellent, I think a lot of people will be talking about him by the end of the season.
REMEMBER- almost All top teams in seriea has a new look midfield this term. So no excuse for PIOLI.
So anything less than scudetto is not acceptable. Also we must dominate opposition 90% of the matches considering the quality of the squad. We don’t want to see the same movie again, in which we score a goal, play bad then a 90th min equalizer, or we concede early then all possession without any penetration or creativity to score back.
Damn this possession. Look at Milan vs inter matches. Always we take possession in league matches and champions league and we won one match and lost 3. And the match we won at the begging of the season on a shy level 3-2. Look at the counter attack of inter. The 3-5-2 gives more fire attack with inzaghi tactics and commitment from player to the plan they go for attack all as a group and defend back fast as a group. The slip in results of Milan vs inter last year because of inzaghi tactics and that was very clear in the first match. We were very strong and our players better focus in the match and we should won 3 Or 4-0 but inzaghi genius gives inter in that match competition and even they were near to score equalize. If we have inzaghi I would say we shall look to win CL not seria a. The situation now that pioli has squad more than his level and quality to manage. Lots of creative inputs and he shall misse.
I think REIJNDERS will be magic this season. Next name on my to buy jersey list.
Where Milan will finish:
3rd. I predicted Napoli to be out of top 4 last season and they ended up running away with the title, so I’m hoping to be proven wrong again obviously. But I think 3rd is a decent and realistic target. We need time to gel all these new players
How far Milan will go in UCL and Coppa Italia:
UCL, hopefully QF? Coppa.. for a change, let’s win this, we’re stacked in depth now.
Scudetto winner:
Napoli or Juve. Despite losing Spaletti, Napoli did hold onto Osimhen and Kvara. Of course it’s a bit of unknown with a new coach, but they’re defending the title and must be respected as such.
Juve will be the wild card, they have all week to prepare for a game and could focus all their attention to the league. Despite the circus that surrounds the club last season, they remarkably managed to steady the ship and at some point hold on to 2nd place amidst all that. Would be foolish to write them off.
Top four in order:
Napoli – Juve – Milan – Inter/Lazio/Roma/Atalanta/Fiorentina, most probably Inter, but I respect Lazio/Roma/Atalanta/Fio, one of them might be a surprise package this season
5th, 6th, 7th:
Inter/Lazio/Roma/Atalanta/Fiorentina, damn this is hard. I still can’t make my mind up.
Relegated teams:
Frosinone, Lecce and Verona perhaps
Capocannoniere:
Hard to get past Osimhen..
Milan’s top scorer:
Giroud. If he didnt run out of gas halfway the season..
Milan’s most assists:
Pulisic
Milan’s player of the season:
Maignan.
Milan’s breakout player:
Thiaw. He kinda broke out last season though, but this season should solidify his claim as the next big thing.
Hmmm interesting 🤔 I don’t see the usual characters on the forum giving their predictions. U guys afraid to put the money where your mouth is? What happened to all that optimism. I’d think if there was ever an article, this was your time to shine…scudetto and a UCL final anyone? Treble ? No? Yes? 😂
All I’ve said from the beginning is “let’s see what happens”….we could finish first we could finish fourth – who knows? You’re the ones who went apoplectic and got your crystal balls out predicting Serie B disaster scenarios.
No you haven’t said “let’s see what happens”, you’ve joined the chorus of “out, out, out”, “in, in, in”.
Predicting what may or may not happen is very different to demanding wholesale changes to the squad and turning on players who delivered success over the past 3-4 years.
Oh man this is pointless.
First of thank you for acknowledging you’re one of the characters 😂😂😂
Secondly who was apoplectic? Serie B? That’s what you gathered from ALL the comments here? I barely saw a comment from ppl saying we’d be in Serie B. U just ran with that tagline buddy. Certainly wasn’t me..thats just really foolish. Even last year when this very site said we were in relegation form in January…we were not and I said so. It’s going to take a monumental fk up to do that.
Thirdly, so why buy all these players for just a “well maybe they could be 1st or 4th, who knows”? That makes no sense. All this for hope for the best? LMAO best we just stick with last year’s squad 😂. All we’re asking is after YOUR optimism on the new management and players, where you think we’ll be..it’s quite simple. After all this brouhaha in the comments about the firing and singings that supposedly makes the team better and we don’t see Giancarlo, Kaka etc means u guys are just out to troll and/or afraid to get caught out by the same ppl you’ve been criticizing.
For us to win the Scudetto we would need a terrible seasonal from all the other top clubs. That’s the only way Pioli can do it, and he already got lucky once. It won’t happen again. Even with a greatly improved offense he doesn’t know how to attack. The sooner he gets fired, the better. Unfortunately if he gets fired early on, it means we had a very poor start, and won’t be able to catch up.
Erm Pioli’s Milan won the Scudetto with a record number of points for Milan…
But hey I guess that reality doesn’t matter when it’s like your opinion man.
That reality was 2 seasons ago. So what happened with this amazing coach last season? Went from 1st to 4th (would have been 5th if not for Juve’s point penalty). And that is not an opinion but fact.
The title sat in the middle of a 2 year period where we had title winning form dating back to after the Covid break.
That form ended in January, and specifically in the last 5 minutes of the Roma game. After that the wheels came off although of course there was the small matter of making to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Pioli, Maldini and the players achieved their minimum objective last season with a bit of luck (and possibly misfortune had that Roma game finished differently, or of Milan had knocked out of the champions league sooner (oh the tragedy!)).
Whether or not Pioli and Milan can recapture the form from before January is the big question.
Success and failure in football comes down to inches not miles, and things can change over night. Mourinho went from one of the most successful coaches in the world and title winner with Chelsea, to be sacked a few months later after he lost the dressing room. He’s struggled ever since.
That’s why what most people write is opinion not fact. But what’s worse is that so many fans opinions are negative about a coach and team that have given them so much. It kind of makes you wonder what the point is.
I think with the new signings we have secure a spot in the top 4. If we are lucky and the team performe well from the start of the season and pioli manage to take advantage of the depth in the roster that we have we may win our 20th scudeto. Although I think Inter and Napoli are the favorites for the championship and Juve have their chance too, not because they are a good team, but they will have the advantage of playing only one game per week. Lazio, Roma and Atlanta are always a threat with good new signings and strong teams, but in my opinion we can finish above them. Let’s hope for a great season in Italy and in Europe with great football,a lot of wins and trophies. Forza Milan!!!
Can I answer these in exactly a month or can we return to this and update/discuss?
so much relies on the press and cohesiveness…
No you may not!!! Final is final lol 😂😂😂jk
It would be good to see progress though. After a month too I’d know as well and probably update. Last year i said we’re 4th to 7th material and that’s after winning the scudetto and I still think we’re in that zone.
Top one – Napoli
Top four – (will return for this)
Capocannoniere:
Osimhen
Milan’s top scorer:
Leao
Milan’s most assists:
Leao
Milan’s player of the season:
Leao, Maignan
Milan’s breakout player:
Thiaw
Redeem team:
Tomori
Tier 1: Napoli, Inter
Tier 2: Juve, Milan, Roma
I don’t see Napoli winning and they could easily finish outside the top 4.
That’s how a big a difference Spalletti makes.
No offense but the one predict Lazio are definitely smoking some cheap crack lmao.
I see great optimism.
This AC Milan is a complete riddle. No predictions can be made.
The only thing I’m sure, is that Inter will finish above Juve.
Top goalscorer Leao, most assists Leao, mvp Leao. Wow such a dependency on one player. Just like Pioli did last season. And I’d say this again and again; when our team’s performance highly depends on an individual, that’s where thing starts to go wrong.
Bingo. The team is set up in two ways. Opponents will know what’s coming down the left flank so that side is static and I haven’t seen anything in preseason that indicates dynamism there. And then the rest of the team it’s unpredictable. Two opposing approaches for the same game..it could go really well or horribly wrong. With the schedule we have we’re gon a see more of getting to that 1v1 with Leao sooner rather than later
Forgot to mention I loved some of Isak’s picks. Lazio?! Interesting. I’d say don’t discount Roma. I should have had them in my top 4 maybe instead of Napoli or even Juve. Mou has found a rythm and have a favourable starting schedule apart from us. I expect them to be among the top of the table early. The issue is whether they can keep the tempo throughout the season.
Sempre Milan building a squad of really good writers… Really loving some of the work.