Eight games into the Serie A campaign and it’s a Milanese one-two, with AC Milan leading the way from Inter. 

The international break gives us a chance to assess what has happened so far, what might happen next and whether champions Napoli and the rest can give the top two a run.

Inter Milan to win Serie A @ 5/4

The Milan giants are off to a solid start to the 2023/24 Serie A campaign and as recent champions – AC Milan in 2021/22 and Inter 12 months earlier – they will both be confident of sustaining another title challenge.

They will also be buoyed by perceptions of a crisis at last season’s runaway champions, Napoli, while unimpressive starts by Roma and Lazio won’t have gone unnoticed.

Inter Milan were top until the weekend when they suffered a malfunction at home to Bologna, but Simone Inzaghi’s men still look a top, top team.

Their run to last season’s Champions League final confirmed to themselves they can be a force under Inzaghi and he couldn’t have asked for a better start to this term than five straight league wins including a 5-1 battering of AC Milan.

There have been slips – a 2-1 loss at home to Sassuolo and the 2-2 draw with Bologna after blowing a two-goal lead – but Inter, with Napoli struggling, look likeliest at this stage to go in.

Ten-goal Lautaro Martinez is on fire while Marcus Thuram has slotted in nicely alongside the Argentinian and there is no sign of wily veterans Henrik Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu running out of puff in midfield.

 Juventus to win Serie A @ 9/2

This was supposed to be a year of consolidation at Juventus as they balance the books after recent scandals. 

But, courtesy of some tidy coaching (plus flaws in some of their rivals), Juve suddenly look like they could be contenders.

Like the two Milan sides ahead of them, Juventus have lost just one of eight matches and are looking strong again. Naturally, it was a quiet transfer window given recent misdemeanours and all eyes are on Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic up front to kickstart some sort of challenge. And that talented duo have not disappointed, with four goals apiece.

A midfield featuring Adrien Rabiot and Manuel Locatelli will be as good as anything in Italy if going well (which they are). They’ve gone into the break on a run of three straight clean sheets and boast the other potential advantage of having no European football to distract them.

The big guns and the outsiders

A number of Napoli fans have turned on boss Rudi Garcia after three home defeats – two in the league – including a horrible 3-1 loss to Fiorentina. 

With Victor Osimhen still banging in the goals the 15/2 champs are quite capable of wiping out a seven-point deficit but the mood in Naples is definitely changeable.

Up the coast in Rome, Jose Mourinho seems to have revived Roma from their worst start in years while defeats at the hands of Lecce and Genoa were hard pills for Lazio to have to swallow and they have never really recovered their poise. Roma are 66/1, with Lazio 100/1.

Fiorentina have snuck into the top four as they look to build on almost winning the Conference League and wins over Atalanta and Napoli will have them believing. 

At 33/1, and arguably more of a danger than Atalanta or either Rome clubs, Vincenzo Italiano’s men aren’t the worst each-way bet.