Roma are set to end their 14-year wait for the Serie A title this year, according to a prediction by the Football Observatory of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) in Switzerland.
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Last season's scudetto runners-up have been ranked ahead of the side who beat them to the title by 17 points, Juventus, in a study involving criteria such as the status of their players, their squad cohesion and club ambition.
It is this latter criteria which tips the scales in the Giallorossi's favour with the CIES study predicting Juve will have slightly less desire to succeed having won the title three years in a row.
Good news for #Chelsea #Barcelona #PSG #Bayern #ASRoma fans. @sportCIES Big 5 League predictions http://t.co/5QqyKtEd49
- CIES (@sportCIES) September 9, 2014
A problem of squad cohesion will reportedly see Napoli drop from their third-placed finish of last season to fifth this time around, behind both AC Milan -- who benefit from a boost in the same area following the arrival of Filippo Inzaghi as coach -- and Fiorentina, who are tipped to finish just ahead of the Rossoneri in third.
The first full season for Inter Milan under the ownership of Erick Thohir is predicted to end in disappointment with a drop of one position to sixth, a place they will be contending with Lazio. Both clubs would therefore miss out on European football next season.
League newcomers Empoli and Cesena as well as Chievo Verona are all set to be relegated according to CIES, with Sassuolo and Palermo just avoiding the drop.
The study incorporates the top five leagues in European football and also predicts titles for Chelsea, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.