Italian League "Scudetto": Inter Strongest Candidate, Napoli Humbled

BERGAMO, MONDAY – The final match of the 2025 Italian League season presents the reality that five teams still have a chance to chase the 2025-2026 Scudetto. Inter Milan is the favorite to win the Italian Cup, followed by Napoli and AC Milan. Juventus is back in the race thanks to the consistent performance of Luciano Spalletti.

Inter once again topped the standings in the 17th week thanks to an important victory at the Atalanta home ground, Gewiss Stadium, on Monday (29/12/2025) in the early hours of WIB. The sole goal came from the striker and captain of Inter, Lautaro Martinez, who capitalized on a blunder by Atalanta defender, Berat Djimsiti, in the 65th minute.

Three points from Bergamo means Inter will welcome New Year's Eve 2026 at the top of the table. The Nerazzurri have 36 points, one ahead of Milan and two ahead of defending champions Napoli.

They also maintain a four-point gap from Juve, who sit in fourth place. AS Roma, currently in fifth position, can also close in as they have already accumulated 30 points.

We know the road ahead is long and we must fight. What is important is that we take action during difficult moments. We are ready to work even harder.

According to Opta's calculations, Inter is the team with the greatest chance of winning the title. In the last 27 days, Inter's chances of winning the title have increased significantly. On December 2, Inter's chances of winning the title were 38.9 percent. After defeating Atalanta in the final game of the 2025 season, the Nerazzurri have a 56.86 percent chance of winning the title.

A different situation was experienced by Napoli, Milan, and Roma, which saw a decrease in their championship odds percentage. Napoli's chances dropped from 23 percent to 17.83 percent. Milan's championship prospects plummeted from 22.8 percent to 17.15 percent.

Similarly, Roma currently has a championship chance of only 2.86 percent. In fact, at the beginning of December, "The Wolves" were considered to have a championship probability of 9.8 percent.

Juve relatively has a championship chance that has not changed. "The Old Lady" is still considered to have a championship opportunity of less than five percent, precisely 4.63 percent.

Inter coach Cristian Chivu emphasized that there are no guarantees for his team in the championship race. According to him, the most important thing is to keep moving forward.

Moreover, the first half of the season is not yet complete. Inter still have three matches remaining before completing the 19-match first round.

"We know there's a long way to go and we have to fight. The important thing is that we react in difficult moments. We're ready to work even harder," Chivu said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Inter will face a challenging month in January. They will have two tough home matches against Bologna and Napoli. For the other four matches in the first month of 2026, Inter is favored to secure easy victories against Parma, Lecce, Udinese, and Pisa.

This situation has Napoli coach Antonio Conte strongly favoring Inter to win the Scudetto. "I don't care what he (Conte) says. We have a busy January ahead of us," he added.

Meanwhile, Conte remains humble about his team's chances of retaining the shield of the Italian League champions in the upcoming season. Napoli concluded the month of December brilliantly.

They conquered Milan and Bologna in the Italian Super Cup, then silenced Cremonese when they returned to compete in Serie A. All three matches were won with a score of 2-0.

"In terms of structure (of the team), we are not yet ready. For me, Inter, Milan, and Juventus are teams that are already prepared," said Conte.

He continued, "We know we cannot perform consistently over a long period. The victories we achieve are based on something extraordinary being done. We do not want to pretend and think we are on the same level as other teams when there are significant differences."

Conte's realistic approach of not putting excessive pressure on his players is quite justified. "The Little Donkey" has a limited squad depth due to injuries to key players, such as Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, Romelu Lukaku, Alex Meret, Mathias Olivera, and Billy Gilmour. Furthermore, Matteo Politano is also at risk of entering the treatment room due to an injury sustained against Cremonese on Sunday (28/12/2025).

In this situation, Napoli faces a January that cannot be taken lightly. Lazio, Inter, and Juve will be faced by Napoli over the next month. In addition, they will encounter three teams that could present surprises, namely Verona, Parma, and Sassuolo.

Inter Sporting Director Giuseppe Marotta actually stated that Napoli is in pole position in the Scudetto race. Given Conte's squad strength and experience, Marotta said there's no reason not to pay closer attention to Napoli's progress this season.

"I can say that Conte is a master communicator. He is very good at diverting attention so that others focus on different matters. It should be noted that among the current top four teams, only Napoli has not changed their coach," said Marotta, who worked with Conte at Juve and Inter.

Napoli's efforts to defend the championship trophy are also evident in their ambition to strengthen their squad in the winter transfer window starting January 1, 2026. Marca reports that Napoli has opened communication with Real Madrid to loan Real's young attacking midfielder, Franco Mastantuono.

However, Napoli's initial loan proposal was immediately rejected by Real. Napoli needs a versatile player to address the squad's deficiencies in the attacking line and the core of the game. Mastantuono, a product of River Plate, can play as an attacking midfielder and a winger. (AFP)