I want to interject a podcast conversation into this thread. Who do you all think is getting relegated this year?
I think Empoli and Salernitana are locks.
I think the teams that will be in the conversation are Empoli, Salernitana, Verona, Cagliari, and Frosinone.
Salernitana - I don't rate Pippo Inzaghi as a coach and don't think he was a good choice for Salernitana. I would not be surprised to see them go for a new coach soon. They do have a guy in Dia who can score double digit goals if he finds form, so we'll see.
Empoli - I think their coach is decent and it's more of an issue with their team. In the last two seasons, they've lost Ricci, Asllani, Pinamonti, Vicario, and Parisi. I don't believe they ever make big investments so hard to see them bringing anyone in. I'm not sure where the goals will come other than Caputo who is only getting older.
Verona - it feels like they've been flirting with relegation for quite some time. They have some players who have Serie A experience that may help them pull through. At the same time, they also lack a goal scorer. Their coach Barone did a decent job with Lecce last season. They actually started off the season well, but seem to be on a big losing streak.
Cagliari - they started the season badly but had some tough matches. They now have 7 points from the last three matches. They have a few older players in attack that have Serie A experience and can pitch in with goals here and there - believe it or not, they have Pavoletti, Petagna, and Lapadula all on their books. They seem to have a fairly experienced team which could see them stay up.
Frosinone - I don't know too much about them so tough to give an opinion. They seem to play attractive football from the few glimpses I saw, but it seems they also concede a lot of goals. Soule is in really good form. I don't know about the rest of their team, but it seems they have a lot of players on loan from different teams.
Udinese/Genoa are the two teams close to the bottom that I'm confident in staying safe. Udinese has too much quality and Genoa have a few players that I believe are above rest of the relegation candidates (guys like Gudmundsson, Retegui, etc.). Lecce look to play good football and I think are decent enough to stay in the league.
If I had to pick, the two I would go for are Salernitana and Empoli. Have not made up my mind on the 3rd team yet.