Serie A Power Rankings: Top 10
As we get ready for match day 21, find out which teams are looking the most competitive in Italy’s top flight.
January 23, 2020 – This year’s Serie A has been more engaging than what most fans would have expected. Now that the second half of the season has just started, here is which teams look the most prepared for the final rush.
10- Hellas Verona 🡻 (10th*, 26 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: LLDWWD
Goals for: 11
Goals against: 11
Clean sheets: 1
Hellas Verona are awarded the tenth rank over Parma due to their consistency in their latest appearances. All in all, the Scaligeri are a well-balanced combination of promising prospects and veterans of the game. With the defence back in business after a negative three-game streak, Ivan Juric must be also relieved to see his team finally find their attacking form, scoring 8 goals in their last 4 games.
They might not have found their true cannoniere yet, but their unpredictability seems to be their strength. With a game in hand half way through the season, the Gialloblù have showed impressive grit and pieced together an unexpectedly competitive portfolio.
With Amir Rrahmani now gone to Napoli, the club must do their best to keep centre-back Kumbulla and Moroccan international Amrabat until the end of the season.
9- Fiorentina 🡹 (11th, 24 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: LDLDWW
Goals for: 7
Goals against: 8
Clean sheets: 2
Ever since the appointment of Beppe Iachini as their new manager in late December, Fiorentina have played 4 games in all competitions, won 3 and drawn 1, conceding only 2 goals and scoring 6. After having dangerously flirted with the relegation zone for the entire first half of the season, the Viola and their fans can finally take a long-awaited breath of fresh air.
For some reason it’s always felt just like a matter of time, because the Gigliati have a talented squad, but they seemed unable to understand how to play with each other and put together noteworthy performances, let alone positive results.
Now they are looking more confident, aware of their means and effective in their football. In this regard, the 2-0 road win over Napoli helped to inject additional positivity in the locker room and to highlight the talent of players like Federico Chiesa and Gaetano Castrovilli in the context of an impressive team effort. It’s nice to have you back, Fiorentina.
8- Udinese = (13th, 24 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: DLWWWL
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 8
Clean sheets: 2
Before Sunday’s bitter last-minute defeat against AC Milan, Luca Gotti’s men had pieced together an impressive three-win run, momentarily putting the relegation scare behind them and finding the necessary focus to exploit their talents. And even though the Bianconeri eventually left the San Siro empty-handed, they managed to put up an impressive 90-minute fight and upset their opponents for most of the game.
Aside from goalkeeping sensation Juan Musso constantly keeping the defence on lock, Udinese also seem to have finally found their long-lost attacking ways. Midfielders Fofana and Mandragora have put together noteworthy performances and delivered crucial assists, while Argentinian talent Rodrigo De Paul is finally back working his magic, having failed to score only once in their last 4 league games.
After a rocky start to the season, the friulani are currently looking like one of the fittest teams in the league.
7- Torino 🡻 (9th, 27 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: WDLWWL
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 8
Clean sheets: 2
Inconsistency at its finest. Just when it felt like the Granata had finally picked up their form, they didn’t manage to double their lead against Sassuolo and suffered their eighth loss of the season at the hands of a team coming from three consecutive defeats.
Considering their roster, it’s understandable to see why the fans have been loud in voicing their disappointment towards Walter Mazzarri’s management. Led by centre-backs Armando Izzo and Nicolas Nkolou, Torino are quite the conservative team and don’t usually show much creative flair, and with their attack struggling to find continuity it’s often been up to veteran left-back Cristian Ansaldi to deliver both goals and assists.
There are still 18 games to play, but if Torino fail to find their true identity already in the next few matches, they risk to keep floating in the mid-table waters without any concrete objectives for the rest of the season.
6- Roma 🡹 (4th, 38 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: DWWLLW
Goals for: 11
Goals against: 7
Clean sheets: 1
As Atalanta go down, the Giallorossi get a comfortable win over Genoa, leap up one place in the table and temporarily clinch the fourth Champions League spot at 38 points.
Despite the recent losses to Torino and Juventus, Roma are slowly finding their groove and their balance, all the while assimilating Paulo Fonseca’s tactics. When it doesn’t completely switch off, their defence is understandably the league’s fourth best, while the attack tends to deliver and Italian international Lorenzo Pellegrini has become the undisputed leader of an extremely entertaining offensive midfield.
This won’t come as news for their fans, but Roma’s woes mainly lay in the staggering number of key players injured and on a lack of concentration on the big stage. While the former doesn’t necessarily (or at least, not solely) depend on the manager, the latter is something he ought to seriously address as soon as possible.
Considering that the Giallorossi have collected a sorrowful 3/18 points against “top 7 teams” in the league this season, it is palpable that they are in desperate need for a big win to boost their confidence and justify their ambitiousness. After a harsh Coppa Italia defeat at the hands of Juventus, ending Lazio’s eleven-win run in Sunday’s Derby della Capitale could serve this purpose perfectly.
5- AC Milan 🡹 (7th, 28 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: WDLDWW
Goals for: 8
Goals against: 9
Clean sheets: 3
Considering how things were looking just over a month ago, 11 points in the last 6 games come as a remarkable accomplishment for AC Milan, who are now sitting only 2 points below the Europa League spot.
Especially since the return of club legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic (1 goal in 3 games), the once-mighty Rossoneri seem to have found their long-lost confidence and winning ways, putting in display a very positive overall performance at Cagliari and managing to get a last-gasp 3-2 home win against Udinese last week.
Aside from the undeniable positive effects that came with Ibra’s return (51.000 spectators at the San Siro on Sunday, among others), a lot of the credit for the team’s recent form surely goes to manager Stefano Pioli, capable of reinventing the line-up from a sterile 4-3-3 to a much more convincing 4-4-2.
Samu Castillejo is brilliantly replacing Suso on the right wing, Rafael Leão and Ibrahimovic look more threatening than Piatek ever did on his own and the centre-midfield partnership between Bennacer and Kessie has definitely got loads of potential. After a tumultuous start to the season, it finally feels like there are quite a few positives to build on. Including a French left-back who just can’t help but keep scoring.
4- Atalanta 🡻 (5th, 35 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: WLWWDL
Goals for: 16
Goals against: 7
Clean sheets: 2
A generous fourth place, because in football there are defeats and… defeats. In this regard, SPAL’s comeback to win the game in Bergamo can only be looked at in one way for the Nerazzurri.
Just when it felt like Giampiero Gasperini’s men had assimilated their manager’s tactics to perfection, scoring beautiful team goals and enchanting with their quick-passing, free-flowing football, the engine suddenly and quite inexplicably jammed. Par for the course, perhaps, but Atalanta ought to take this incident seriously, especially considering that it came only five days after a Coppa Italia defeat at the hands of a struggling Fiorentina side.
The bergamaschi are undoubtedly a very impressive team, they are accomplishing much more than expected and they deserve every bit of the credit they’re being given. However, it’s becoming difficult to understand who they really are. Are they the captivating underdog worthy of Pep Guardiola’s praises, or just an unusual provinciale side, able to keep in check Inter or Manchester City only to drop points at the hands of Bologna and SPAL?
The issue is most likely just a matter of mind-set and inexperience, but after years of constant improvement, by now it feels like Atalanta should have learnt to be more consistent.
3- Inter 🡹 (2nd, 47 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: DDWWDD
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 4
Clean sheets: 2
Milan’s Nerazzurri move up one spot, but it’s only due to Atalanta’s defeat and to the fact that they’ve proven almost unbeatable in Serie A this season. In fact, no games so far have laid Antonio Conte’s struggles bare better than the consecutive 1-1 draws against Atalanta and Lecce, highlighting both that the players are running out of steam and that their 3-5-2 line-up isn’t always as effective as they’d hope.
In both games the opposition has succeeded in isolating Inter’s front two quite easily, with the Nerazzurri struggling to shake things up and find alternative ways to goal, let alone to adopt a more suitable game plan. True, Nicolò Barella and Stefano Sensi have just come back from injury, and after months of dusting second-to-third choices it will surely take Conte a few games to get the midfield running as smoothly as it was in autumn.
What’s most important at this point in the season is not to despair, to analyse what the team have lacked in the latest fixtures and to keep working and improving. After all, the league’s best defence is still barely conceding, the Lukaku-Lautaro tandem is far from out-dated and Inter are surely the best they’ve looked in a very long time.
But if they are really willing to bring the Scudetto back to Milan, they will have to prove it in the next few games already, independently from the final signings of a rather clamorous transfer window. With Juventus and Lazio steamrolling up the table, Conte’s men just can’t afford another slip.
2- Juventus = (1st, 51 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: LWWWWW
Goals for: 14
Goals against: 7
Clean sheets: 1
Title-holders for the eighth consecutive season and current winter champions, wasn’t it for Lazio’s incredible run, Juventus would surely be sitting top of this list.
Despite having struggled to find their new identity ever since the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their manager, the Bianconeri finally seem to have found some consistency in their starting line-up and in their tactics.
Sure, they have shown their weak side on a number of games while trying to adapt to a new style of play, but they’ve recently put in display increasing defensive integrity and slightly more dominant football than what we’ve been used to this season. Following Demiral’s injury, circumstances have forced Sarri to empower De Ligt as a starting centre-back, and Bonucci’s leadership is proving vital for the Dutchman to find his seemingly lost form and confidence.
After months of experiments, it looks like Dybala and Ronaldo should be the designated front two for most games to come, and with the Portuguese putting up Real Madrid-like numbers (13 goals in his last 10 games across all competitions) there shouldn’t be much to worry about.
Still, there is room for improvement, especially at midfield and in the team’s winning mentality. While the former isn’t full flowing and Aaron Ramsey just doesn’t seem to get going, the latter isn’t as much of a trademark as it’s been for the past eight years. With two teams on their heels and the schedule getting denser as the Champions League approaches, it’s finally time to kick this race into high gear.
1- Lazio = (3rd*, 45 pts.)
Last six league games
Form: WWWWWW
Goals for: 16
Goals against: 4
Clean sheets: 2
Not many experts would have bet on Lazio’s 33 points in 11 consecutive league games, the club’s longest winning streak ever. Simone Inzaghi’s men have been on an absolute tear recently, and they are showing no intention to stop. With one home game in hand, the Biancocelesti are the only team who have managed to beat Juventus in all competitions this year, and they’ve actually done it twice if we also weigh in the Supercoppa final (3-1 in both fixtures).
Lazio’s strengths are many, and their numbers are among the most impressive across Europe’s top five leagues. Italian international Francesco Acerbi has officially become the leader of the league’s second best defence with only 18 goals against, while offensive midfielder Luis Alberto has assisted 23.91% of the team’s total 46 goals, half of which have been scored by Ciro Immobile, the undisputed leader in Europe’s golden boot race.
Lazio seem capable of it all, and they have especially mastered the art of stealing wins as the game clock approaches to the final minute. Critics could say that they are bound to run out of energy, that they are too conservative in their starting line-up, or again that their roster isn’t as rich as those of the other horses in the title race. Don’t forget, though: following Tuesday’s Coppa Italia defeat at the hands of Napoli, the Biancocelesti are now left with only one competition to focus on. And if they keep up their current rhythm, they might as well be on course for their third domestic title ever.
* Teams have one game in hand
By Tommaso Adami
Photo: Getty