Allegri Prepares for Crowded Serie A Title Race with Napoli
Massimiliano Allegri is bracing for a Serie A season he believes could be the most crowded title race in years. Eight clubs, he says, are walking into 2026-27 with a genuine shot at the Scudetto – and his Napoli are right in the thick of it.
“Inter are the favourites because they hold the trophy,” he told Sportmediaset, laying down the marker. Then he widened the lens. “But there will be at least eight teams to keep an eye on. As well as the Nerazzurri and ourselves, also Milan, Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Como and Atalanta.”
Inter remain the standard, the team everyone else is measuring themselves against. Allegri knows it, admits it, and still refuses to see this as a duel at the top. In his eyes, the league is stacked: heavyweights trying to reclaim lost ground, ambitious projects like Como pushing into the elite, and Atalanta’s relentless machine never far from the conversation.
Centenary pressure and a brutal calendar
For Napoli, this isn’t just another season. It’s a centenary year, and that changes the air around the club. The expectation from the city, the weight of history, the sense that this campaign must mean something more – Allegri feels all of it.
“It’ll be a beautiful and demanding year,” he said, choosing his words carefully but not softening the reality. Napoli must hold their own on three fronts: Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. No room for drift. No space for excuses.
The European landscape only adds to the strain. With the Champions League moving to a single group stage format, the margin for error shrinks. Allegri set out the target plainly: “In the Champions League, however, we need to get through the single group stage and then reach the playoffs or the round of 16 as best we can.”
The message is clear. Survive the grind of the new format, then strike as deep into the knockout rounds as possible. All while staying alive in a title race he expects to be suffocatingly tight.
Buongiorno blow and defensive reshuffle
The optimism is real, but so is the first major setback. Alessandro Buongiorno’s long-term injury has ripped a hole in Napoli’s defensive plans just as the season looms.
“It’s a shame about Buongiorno, who will be out until January,” Allegri admitted. A key piece gone for months, and with it the luxury of easing others into form.
The response, though, is to turn inward, not panic. “In any case I have Marin and Rrahmani, Beukema is behind but he’ll recover his best form, and if needed I also have Olivera. I’m confident.”
That’s the defensive puzzle now: Marin and Amir Rrahmani as pillars, Sam Beukema chasing his peak condition, Mathías Olivera as an extra solution if the system needs tweaking. No dramatic declarations, just a coach backing his depth to hold the line until January.
Hojlund at the heart of the attack
At the other end of the pitch, the conversation keeps circling back to one name: Rasmus Hojlund. The Dane is the focal point, the striker asked to turn potential into numbers in a season where every goal could tilt the title race.
Allegri has already compared him in profile to Harry Kane in the past, a huge compliment and an even bigger challenge. Now he is tightening the demands.
“He's a very physical striker, he puts in the effort and is eager,” the Napoli coach said. The praise stopped there. “But he needs to improve his goal-scoring record this season. He can do so given that he has all the potential.”
That’s the bar. Not just running, not just presence, but cold, repeatable finishing. In a league Allegri believes will be decided among eight serious contenders, Napoli cannot afford a season of almosts from their No. 9.
Inter set the pace. Milan, Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Como and Atalanta circle with intent. Napoli enter a centenary year with a patched-up defence, a heavy schedule and a young striker under clear orders.
If Hojlund hits the numbers Allegri is demanding, and the back line survives until Buongiorno returns, how far can this Napoli side push in the most crowded title race Allegri has seen in years?
