Inter Milan, having dominated the competition last season, will begin their Serie A title defense on Saturday as they face Genoa at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
While Inter aims to maintain their position at the top, their opponents are focused on breaking into Italy's top 10.
Inter secured their 20th Scudetto, earning a second star on their iconic black-and-blue jersey, by clinching last season's title in a dramatic fashion, defeating their city rivals AC Milan at San Siro.
Despite drawing their final two matches, the Nerazzurri finished with a staggering 19-point lead over Milan in the standings. This gap was the second-largest between first and second in Italy's three-points-per-win era, surpassing Napoli's achievements from the previous year.
Inter's unstoppable captain, Lautaro Martinez, formed a remarkable partnership with Marcus Thuram and was crowned Capocannoniere after scoring 24 goals in 33 league appearances. He later joined the Argentina squad that successfully defended the Copa America.
With minimal changes to last season's dominant squad, head coach Simone Inzaghi led Inter through a busy summer, concluding with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in their final friendly on Sunday.
Now, with only one away defeat in Serie A during the 2023-24 season, Inter heads to Liguria, aiming to continue the trend of reigning champions winning their opening match in 12 of the last 13 Serie A seasons.
Additionally, Inter has outscored Genoa 28-2 across their last 10 top-flight meetings, maintaining an unbeaten streak against Saturday's hosts.
In a rare instance of continuity following Italy's summer managerial changes, Genoa boss Alberto Gilardino will reunite with Inzaghi this weekend.
The former Milan striker, who once played alongside Simone's brother Pippo Inzaghi at San Siro, is set for his second full season in charge. After being appointed in December 2022, Gilardino led the Grifone back to Serie A and secured their survival with ease last season.
Genoa's resilience was evident during their comeback campaign, as they earned 18 points from losing positions—a club record since the top flight expanded to 20 teams in 2004.
As a result, relegation was never a concern, and Gilardino's squad capped off a solid mid-table finish with a final-day victory over Bologna.
Having suffered only five home defeats at Marassi in 2023-24, the Rossoblu begin the new season at their formidable home ground, where they recently defeated Reggiana 1-0 in the Coppa Italia.
After returning to training, Mehdi Taremi, Inter's biggest summer acquisition, who scored five goals in three preseason games before sustaining a thigh injury, could be ready. However, the champions will be without a number of players on Saturday night.
Piotr Zielinski, another new youngster, Stefan de Vrij, Tajon Buchanan, and Marko Arnautovic are all unavailable to Simone Inzaghi.
Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, the former star of Porto, should be the visitors' go-to striking duo to spearhead their assault even with Taremi back in the lineup.
Interestingly, among the 29 teams in Serie A that he has played against thus far, Genoa is one of just two against whom he has not yet scored a goal; that being said, 'El Toro' has contributed five goals in his past four opening matches of the season.
In the meanwhile, Genoa will have to start the season without their number one goalkeeper, Pierluigi Gollini, after Josep Martinez joined Inter earlier this summer, taking Yann Sommer's spot.
Albert Gudmundsson, who scored 14 goals in his best season yet with the Grifone, is still with them for the time being, but he may be benched as rumors about him rampant.
Junior Messias, who scored Genoa's cup-winning goal last week, and Vitinha might make up a temporary front line as former partner Mateo Retegui has moved to Atalanta BC.
