Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi has said that he believes that both Milan clubs and Lazio will be involved in the title race along with reigning champions Juventus.
The Giallorossi have been trying to improve their squad all summer and have managed to bring in wingers Mohamed Salah and Iago Falque and I Lupi are also thought to be in negotiations with Manchester City for striker Edin Dzeko.
“One year ago, Juventus looked to be weaker in terms of their squad and coach, and they ended up doing better than in the previous seasons,” De Rossi said to reporters at an event held to unveil a new TV deal between Roma and Sky Sport Italia.
“A team that has won four league titles in a row and reached the final of the Champions League can’t help but be considered as the favourites.
“And the team [Roma] that finished in second place behind them can’t help but be considered as their first rival.”
The midfielder was then asked about other potential rivals in the title race.
“Both Milan sides have bolstered their squads greatly, and Lazio will be in the championship race too,” said De Rossi.
“I’ve heard a lot of talk about [new coach Maurizio] Sarri’s Napoli, we saw him playing against some rivals and his team didn’t look bad.
“Sarri beat teams [with Empoli] that were much stronger than his own, we had trouble against them too.
“We’ll see what he can do with a superior team.”
The Roma vice-captain then discussed the Giallorossi’s hopes for the Champions League this season.
“We risk another group of death, After the Bayern Munich game we all agreed that our play was very open and too arrogant.
“Before that game I believed that we could go up against anyone in a single match.
“But you could tell from our return leg that, even though we played well, we hadn’t understood the value of teams that were distinctly superior to us.
“Perhaps this season we’ll even be able to cause them some trouble, since we’re starting from the group of third seeds.”
