Football fans across Italy are preparing to dust off their scarves and reunite with their favourite jersey from the back of the cupboard this weekend as Serie A action finally returns.

Three months after Antonio Conte’s Napoli secured the title on a dramatic final day of the 2024-25 campaign, Italy’s finest are ready to do it all again, with a few new faces thrown into the mix, too.

It all starts on Saturday, and Destination Calcio has the pick of the matches from the opening weekend to help you get stuck back into the calcio action.

Sassuolo Vs Napoli – Saturday, 5.30pm (UK)

The reigning champions Napoli begin their 2025-26 season with a trip to Reggio Emilia to take on newly promoted Sassuolo, with Antonio Conte’s men beginning their hunt to secure back-to-back Serie A titles for the first time in the club’s history.

Anything other than three points on the road against top-flight newcomers would be considered a sloppy start by their own high standards – although they’d have to go some way to top their opening weekend debacle last season when they fell to a shock 3-0 defeat at Hellas Verona.

Napoli have added a handful of new signings this summer. Ballon d’Or nominee Scott McTominay will be joined in the midfield by Kevin De Bruyne, whilst Sam Beukema and Noa Lang will also expect to become regular starters. There could be more business to come too, with the club scrambling for attacking options after it was confirmed Romelu Lukaku would miss the first three months of the season with injury.

A good omen for the visitors is that they have defeated Sassuolo in each of their last five league meetings. Those results included a 4-0 win and two 6-1 thumpings. The Neroverdi, who won Serie B last season, will be determined to avoid any kind of repeat.

Roma Vs Bologna – Saturday, 7.45pm (UK)

Since AS Roma last won the Scudetto in 2001, they have finished in second place on nine occasions. This weekend marks a new era and a new wave of optimism at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma fans have already broken season ticket sales records ahead of the campaign – the Giallorossi faithful giving their seal of approval to new boss Gian Piero Gasperini, who takes the reins as manager after an incredible nine-year stint with Atalanta.

The veteran coach turned Atalanta into Europa League champions and top four regulars during a fairytale stay in Bergamo, and fans in the capital will be hoping for their own nights to remember under the 67-year-old’s watch. Exciting new signings Evan Ferguson and Wesley have only added to the sense of anticipation.

Bologna, meanwhile, will have their own plans to silence a sold-out crowd in Rome.

The reigning Coppa Italia champions have gambled on signings like Ciro Immobile and Federico Bernardeschi. The pair have 96 Italy caps and plenty of Serie A goals between them and both have a point to prove back in Italy’s top flight after spells in Turkey and MLS respectively.

Como Vs Lazio – Sunday, 5.30pm (UK)

Como had a fantastic debut season in the top flight last year. They finished tenth and could be considered the ‘best of the rest’ – finishing ahead of the likes of Torino, Udinese and Genoa.

This year Cesc Fabregas will want to bridge that 13-point gap between ninth and tenth and challenge for European places. If that sounds ambitious, you may not have been paying attention to the club’s approach over the past few years – nor their additions in this summer transfer window.

Álvaro Morata is the standout name with bags of quality. The striker has played 86 times for Spain and won the Scudetto twice with Juventus. But Como have also added quality in the form of numerous under-23 players that are used to top level football, like Jesús Rodriguez from Real Betis and Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb.

Lazio, who finished seventh last year, are one of the teams Fabregas and Co are trying to catch. An opening day win on the lake would be a big statement and could be the catalyst for a special season.

Atalanta Vs Pisa – Sunday, 7.45pm (UK)

These clubs are both stepping into the unknown in the 2025-26 season and that could make for some interesting Sunday night viewing.

Atalanta fans are still coming to terms with life after Gasperini. Ivan Jurić is the new boss of the Bergamo club, who have also lost key striker Mateo Retegui and might yet lose the talismanic Ademola Lookman.

Pisa haven’t played in Serie A since the early 1990’s and enter the season with a far more positive outlook than their opening weekend opponents.

The Tuscan team have added players with Serie A pedigree to their squad by signing Michel Aebischer on loan from Bologna and Juan Cuadrado on a free from Atalanta, giving them hope of punching above their weight back in the big time.

Inter Vs Torino – Monday, 7.45pm (UK)

Inter have been the most consistent team in Italy for the last six seasons, and yet they might feel hard done by. In that time period they have only won two league titles and twice been runners-up in the Champions League.

Fine margins have kept this team inches away from adding to their recent trophy haul. Two Coppa Italia successes in that period are offset by three second-place finishes in the league. Success and agony in equal measure.

Now Inter have to dust themselves down and go again under new manager Cristian Chivu. Last season they were pipped to the title by Napoli, and then destroyed in the Champions League final by PSG.

The onus is on the Nerazzurri to bounce back stronger than ever this season and dispel suggestions that this is an ageing team reaching the end of an era.