As the Serie A season rapidly approaches, with Verona hosting Roma on Saturday evening to commence proceedings, there is never a more apt opportunity to air your predictions and hope for the best. Last campaign threw up an abundance of surprises, with the likes of Empoli, a surefire pick for relegation before the beginning of last season, surviving with eight points to spare, while the likes of Lazio, Torino and Genoa confounded pre-season expectations. 

Close to €460 million has been forked out on new recruits while both Milan sides, synonymous with European glory during the 2000s, have waved farewell to austerity as they aim to recapture their status at the summit of the footballing hierarchy.

At VAVEL, we have assembled four calciofionadio's to give their views on the six central questions surrounding the forthcoming Serie A campaign, with Craig Vickers, Cammy Anderson, Oliver Fisher and Danial Kennedy all weighing in on the matter.

So without further ado, let's jump into it.

Champions

Juventus reigned supreme in Italy for the fourth successive campaign last time out, but can they preserve their incredible feat? Who will lift the title?

CV -- Juventus: It’s difficult to look past the Old Lady in their quest for a fifth successive Scudetti. Tactically, they are vastly superior to the chasing pack, while the individual quality Max Allegri has at his disposal should be enough to see them over the line. It will be intriguing, however, to see how they cope with the losses of Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal, but should Paul Pogba burgeon into the all-encompassing, consistent midfielder we have expected, the Scudetto will be returning to the Juventus Stadium.

CA -- Juventus: Having won the past four it is too hard not to presume that the Old Lady will come out on top again and win their fifth consecutive Scudetti. 

OF -- Juventus: The reigning champions should still have far too much for the nearest competitors despite a turbulent summer with plenty of comings and goings. A solid core including the ever-present defenders of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Pogba, and forwards Alvaro Morata and Mario Mandzukic will see the Old Lady home. 

DK -- Juventus: All signs seem to point to Juventus lifting their fifth consecutive Serie A title. After an excellent campaign last year, there has been quite a changing of the guard at the Juventus Stadium with key players in Vidal, Tevez and Pirlo all departing to Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors and New York City FC respectively. Many would be concerned but they have managed to invest well with Paulo Dybala, Mandzukic and Sami Khedira all coming well and other big names linked with a move to Turin. Their biggest piece of business has been keeping hold of midfielder Pogba and I believe that his contribution will prove the difference over their title rivals. 

Relegation contenders

Survival in Serie A proved too big of a hurdle for Parma, Cesena and Cagliari last term, but with the arrivals of lowly Carpi, Frosinone and Bologna from the second tier, can any defy the odds and beat the drop? Who will go down?

CV -- Frosinone, Carpi and Atalanta: It promises to be a basement battle for the ages considering the scarcity of quality that resides in the lower reaches of Serie A this campaign. Carpi and Frosinone wield paltry wage bills compared to their relegation counterparts and, while Jerry Mbakogu and Kevin Lasagna lit up Serie B last term, will require an Empoli-like miracle to stay afloat. Of course, conventional wisdom views Bologna as the weakest of three promoted sides, but Mattia Destro’s goals should be enough to keep them up. Empoli’s success last time out was largely predicated around the ingenuity of Maurizio Sarri, but they should possess enough to survive at the expense of Atalanta, who may be unable to cope with the exits of several prominent figures.

CA -- Carpi, Frosinone and Empoli: The former two are operating on a shoestring budget and, despite a few decent signings, will struggle in the big time. Empoli, on the other hand, have lost coach Sarri to Napoli, as well as few of their stars from last season, and will struggle to replicate last season's form.

OF -- Carpi, Atalanta and Frosinone: Carpi's story has been a fairy tale of sorts, and this is such a big season for them. However, I'm unsure if they can make the step up and should ultimately struggle. Atalanta have, over the course of two years, auctioned off their young core and sought no replacements. Despite boasting an experienced coach, they are my surprise pick to go down. Frosinone, similar to Carpi, will find it hard to adapt and could easily find themselves cut adrift with some tough fixture stretches. 

DK -- Atalanta, Bologna and Frosinone: At the opposite end of the table I believe it is going to be a tough year for Atalanta, Bologna and Frosinone. Atalanta struggled considerably last season, finishing one place outside of the relegation zone in 17th and just three points above Cagliari, who were relegated to Serie B, and I believe that luck will not be on their side this time around. Bologna and Frosinone came up from the second tier of Italian football along with champions Carpi, and, whilst I believe that Carpi will have enough to survive, I think that the other two sides will struggle to keep their top flight status.  

Player of the Year

This season promises to be a pivotal one for the likes of Pogba, Marchisio and Morata in Turin, while the arrivals of proven goal getters in Edin Džeko, Mandzukic and Carlos Bacca should add undoubted quality to their club's forward lines, but who will shine the brightest?

CV -- Paul Pogba: The Frenchman should blossom in the absence of Vidal and Pirlo and, judging by his request for the coveted number 10 shirt, he is willing to shoulder the creative burden. He netted eight times in 24 appearances last time out, but there remains a feeling that the 22-year-old doesn’t always produce when required. This season should rectify that.

CA -- Carlos Bacca: Bacca is a proven goal scorer and could be the man who fires Milan back to where they belong; Champions League football. 

OF -- Paul Pogba: This is the year where Pogba completely makes the league his own and carries Juve as he hastens his development into one of the world's best players. 

DK -- Paul Pogba: As I mentioned previously, Juventus’ best bit of business in this summer’s transfer window was keeping hold of Pogba. The Frenchman was heavily linked with a move away to the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. He decided to stay and, with the departure of Pirlo to the MLS, he has inherited the role as the clubs first-choice midfielder and, with the influence of new recruit Sami Khedira, the 2015/16 season could prove to be a very big season for the 22-year-old. 

Coach of the Year

Juve boss Allegri exorcised some personal demons with a thoroughly commendable baptism on the Bianconeri touchline, while the likes of Maurzio Sarri, Gian Piero Gasperini, Stefano Pioli and Sinisa Mihajlovic impressed at their respective clubs, but who will take home the prize of Coach of the Year this time around?

CV -- Sinisa Mihajlovic: It’s difficult to constitute a successful debut campaign for the ex-Sampdoria coach, but a return to Europe for AC Milan should be wholly commended. Should he also maximise the goal-scoring output of Bacca, while mending the frangible reargued that has beset Milan’s ambitions over the years, a spot in the Europa League is within the realms of possibility.

CA -- Maurizio Sarri: Sarri earned himself a move to a bigger club in Napoli after a fantastic season with Empoli. And, with a bigger budget and better facilities, he should be able to improve Napoli's poor season last year and have them challenging for the title.

OF -- Sinisa Mihajlovic: Mihajlovic will transform Milan into a well-disciplined, enthusiastic and energetic side that should jump up the league from last season, perhaps flirting with top spot for a while.

DK -- Gian Piero Gasperini: Everyone expects the likes of Juve’s Allegri and Roma’s Rudi Garcia to have an excellent campaign in charge of their respective clubs, but if Genoa manager Gasperini can produce another season like last year, he will be well in contention for coach of the year. Genoa had an excellent season last year, finishing in an impressive sixth position and just four points behind Napoli in the Europa League positions, ten points behind third placed Lazio. It could prove a tough test to replicate that form, but if any manager can better that, it is Gasperini. 

Capocannoniere

The ageing, yet ever-improving, Luca Toni shared the Capocannoniere award alongside Mauro Icardi last term, yielding an impressive 22 goals over the campaign. The Argentine became the youngest victor since Paolo Rossi in 1978 and could lay claim the coveted prize yet again, but will face stiff competition from several other candidates. 

CV -- Mauro Icardi: The battle for Capocannoniere award this season should be an intriguing one considering the arrivals of Bacca, Dzeko and Mandzukic. The former netted regularly for Sevilla in a notoriously difficult division while the latter has scored goals wherever he’s been, as Allegri reiterated during the Croatian’s arrival. But it’s still difficult to rule out Icardi. Inter’s form fluctuated last term, yet the Argentine remained a constant supplier of goals at the tip of the attack. With Stefan Jovetic tasked with supplementing him, he should surpass the 22-goal haul he yielded last campaign.

CA -- Carlos Bacca: The Colombian averaged a goal every other game while at Sevilla and was in fine form last year. I expect him to get 20+ goals in his first year in Italy.

OF -- Carlos Bacca: Bacca will find the Serie A easy. He has been superb in friendlies for the Rossoneri at only 50 per cent match fitness, and his pace plus immense power will bag him a lot of goals this season. I'm also anticipating a drop off for Icardi as his partner Jovetic will shoulder some responsibility for output. 

DK -- Mauro Icardi: There a number of strikers that are in good contention to claim the prestigious Capocannoniere, with the likes of Dzeko and Bacca instantly in contention having just joined the league. However, I believe that the top scorer in Italy is someone who was very close to claiming the award outright last campaign in Inter's Icardi. The Argentine was a shining light in what was a pretty miserable campaign for Roberto Mancini’s side last time out, the 22-year-old finishing joint top of the goal scoring charts with Verona veteran Luca Toni with 22 goals each. At his young age, he has time to build upon his excellent campaign and the arrival Jovetic from Manchester City will be a massive help to see Icardi win the Capocannoniere outright in the upcoming campaign. 

Surprise Package of the Year

Empoli flouted expectations last term with survival in top flight, while the likes of Genoa, Lazio and Torino sent several eyebrows skywards with their impressive campaigns. Will those sides continue to defy the odds, or will we see another name thrown into the mix?

CV -- Chievo: The Flying Donkeys season can go one of two ways: either they sink, dice with relegation and dismiss and appoint yet another manager en route to a 15th place finish, or, alternatively, they could build on the positives from last season — namely their commendable defensive record — and establish themselves as a comfortable mid-table side. Of course, Chievo’s wage bill pales in comparison to that of, say, Sampdoria’s, but the addition of Pepe from Juventus in attack equips Rolando Maran’s side with an extra attacking option upfront.

CA -- Milan: After a massively below par season last year, I can see Milan challenging for Champions League football from the off and perhaps even challenging for the title. 

OF -- Torino: Torino are slowly rebuilding with a core of talented players. They are expected to struggle after losing so many key pieces, but I feel they will rebound a little and challenge for Europe. 

DK -- Milan: A decade ago it would be unheard of to name AC Milan as one of the surprise teams ahead of a new season as they were one of the biggest clubs, not only on the continent, but on the planet. However, fast forward to last year and they had one of their worst finishes in their top flight history as they assumed 10th place, which was both outside of the European places and three points behind city rivals Internazionale, who themselves have had poor turn of form. New manager Mihajlovic has heavily invested in strengthening his new club with €88 million spent, and whilst that amount of money will come with pressure, I believe that it will go a long way as they restore themselves as one of the biggest sides in Italy.