US Sassuolo arrive as runaway second-tier champions, having pipped Pisa SC to the coveted Serie B crown. US Cremonese came through the play-offs, beating Spezia 3-2 on aggregate, with all five goals netted in the second leg.
The 2025/26 Serie A campaign lines up with AC Milan, AS Roma, Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Como, Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Napoli, Parma, Pisa SC, Torino, Udinese, US Cremonese, US Sassuolo and Verona.
Last season’s promoted teams of Como, Parma and Venezia experienced a mixed term in the Italian top-flight, the most impressive was Como chief Cesc Fabregas guiding the minnows to a 10th-place finish.
Parma ended 16th after making a stuttering start. They parted with manager Fabio Pecchia in mid-February and replaced him with Romanian Cristian Chivu, who recently took over the helm at Inter Milan.
Venezia returned to the second tier, finishing 19th and losing their last game of the season at home to Champions League-chasing Juventus in May. There was a mutual agreement for head coach Eusebio Di Francesco to leave the club, and he has since joined Lecce.
The step up from Serie B to the top tier is not always easy, with Cremonese, Pisa SC and Sassuolo among the favorites with bookmakers to be relegated this term.
Cremonese relying on firefighter Nicola
Cremonese’s only foray in Serie A ended in disaster. They registered just five wins and collected a mere 27 points to finish 19th in their 2022/23 season.
Manager Giovanni Stroppa was fired shortly after securing promotion. His working relationship at the club had always appeared strange. He was appointed in September 2023 but sacked in October 2024, replaced by Eugenio Corini for five games, only to be re-hired a month later until June’s bombshell.
Former AC Milan midfielder Stroppa, once linked to donning a Juve jersey, has been given the boot each time he earned promotion to Serie A, having experienced a shock finale to Crotone and Monza. He has joined relegated Venezia.
Davide Nicola has been placed in charge of Cremonese for their comeback campaign in Serie A, and has only introduced three new faces this summer.
Central midfielder Warren Bondo and right-back Filippo Terracciano arrived on loan from AC Milan, with center-back Federico Baschirotto purchased from Lecce for €3 million (US$3.5m).
OldJuve Prediction: Cremonese flirt with an immediate return to Serie B and suffer relegation.
Former Juventus star at Pisa
Former Juventus striker Filippo Inzaghi left Pisa by mutual consent after only one season, despite leading them to a second-place finish and a return to Serie A after a 34-year absence.
He is now at Palermo, part of the same ownership group as moneybags Manchester City, who were last in the Italian top tier in 2017.
Alberto Gilardino has been tasked with trying to secure Pisa’s top-flight status, appointed as head coach in June. He has signed former Juventus right midfielder Juan Cuadrado on a freebie.
The cash-strapped club has brought in a pair of loanees, defensive midfielder Michael Aebischer from Bologna and striker M'bala Nzola from Fiorentina.
OldJuve Prediction: Pisa prop up the Serie A table for most of the season and drop back into the second tier.
Ex-Juve Primavera boss steering Sassuolo
Sassuolo boss Fabio Grosso tasted an underwhelming spell with the Turin titans as a left-back over three campaigns, but impressed as Juve’s U19 coach with four seasons in charge of the Primavera team.
His Serie A managerial record makes dismal reading, which does not bode well for tackling the Serie A season. He was manager of Brescia in November 2019, but was sacked after three top-flight games. His team failed to score and conceded 10 goals.
Grosso does have former Juventus target Domenico Berardi in his ranks, who is a formidable striker and causes havoc for opponents whenever he is utilized on the right wing.
Sassuolo have impressed in previous stints in Serie A, and as they still have a handful of players in their current squad with top tier experience should not be cannon fodder like the other two promoted sides.
Left winger Armand Lauriente, who recently came close to joining Premier League newcomers Sunderland, appears destined for a big club with a plethora of top Turkish teams showing interest in signing the rising French star.
OldJuve Prediction: If Sassuolo can make their Mapei Stadium a cauldron they should end the season just outside the top 10 and not suffer any threat of relegation.