I originally had planned on only doing one power ranking post but after a couple weeks, I have had more of a glimpse at some teams. We are now officially one day prior to the first games of the season being played. These are my adjustments. If you have NOT read my initial power rankings, you can view it here: https://www.leaguegaming.com/forums/index.php?threads/manleys-s13-preseason-power-rankings.330905/ I recommend viewing the previous power rankings first as a lot of what I am about to write will be assuming my audience HAS read the previous post. With that, let us begin. Title Contenders! 1. AC Milan I placed this team third in my preseason power rankings but after some time to digest what this team still is I now have to place them at the top of the league. I still think their defense is a question mark but it might be a bit better than I initially thought it would be. They have also made decent moves in strengthening this area of the pitch as well. 2. Napoli I have actually had the pleasure of playing in this defensive line recently. The most surprising for me is how competent of a defender Alonzi actually is in a three-back. Now, I am not as grizzled in this league as some are so I was not around back in the days when Alonzi was supposedly playing at this position. I'm just simply stating based on the eye test that this defense is looking very strong. The team looks complete. 3. Inter Milan I had to internalize why I was so high on Inter Milan. The conclusion I came to was that I saw their offense get quite a bit better on paper. However, their defense did lose a step when comparing it to last season. Now, the season hasn't even started but I don't see any defense soon living up to this team's defensive record last season. This team will compete but I had to acknowledge that perhaps their defensive record may not be the same. 4. F.C Crotone This team is beatable, I promise. Their shape is great. They are very patient in the build up. As a center back, watching them move the ball in transition, you start to think that you will have to make a stop. By the time the ball starts getting cycled around the 18 yard line, you are hoping your defensive midfielders make a challenge because if they don't, you're forced into a 50/50 by their crafty forwards. Because of how new some of these players are to the league, they have the advantage of their tendencies not being well-known. Especially by defenses. Good Teams. 5. Parma Calcio This team has made the biggest jump in my opinion. I'm still unsure of how quality their midfield might be however, their offense is clinical and their defense is great. While I am placing this team at fifth, I am still unsure of if I might be overrating them at this moment. 6. Genoa C.F.C I had reservations about this team's defense heading into preseason but they've given me a reason to feel a little bit better about that area of the pitch. I think this team will do well. 7. ACF Fiorentina Originally, I had planned on saving for next season but after some things not going my way in the locker room, I decided to make this team a one-season project instead. The offense is new to one another so there might be some issues early. Movement in transition doesn't always look as good as it could. Placing my team higher does nothing for me. This is genuinely where I see Fiorentina at the end of the season. 8. Atalanta B.C The team has some big names and has been doing well in tournaments. My only issue though is that they occasionally pull players from other teams for these tournaments. Now they have to show us how much of those results were them as opposed to the fill-ins. 9. Lazio Not much has changed about my opinion of this team. They have a great attack. I was worried about their defense originally and I think preseason validated my worries. There is always time to correct this issue and their defense could get very hot when the season starts as well. Who knows? This is a tough team to place. They could easily end 5th but I don't see them any lower than 10th 10. Roma This is another tough team. I look at their attack and I see one of the weakest attacking sides on paper. With that being said, they feel tough to play against and their defense is great. 10th is probably too low for them. Just like Lazio, they could end 5th or 10th. I just don't know. Missing Something... 11. Udinese Calcio This team looks amazing on paper but something just seems off to me. They don't score as much as maybe they should and the defense can be a bit leaky at times despite the big names. I don't want to use the cliché of "big names that don't play well together" but it seems like that early on so far. 12. U.C Sampdoria 12th just doesn't feel right for this team because I think they are a good outfit. I do think LG is deep this season and this team shows that. They have proven to me that they can score. This is another team that could climb if they patch some things up. They gave Napoli some tough games in preseason. Perhaps I am being unfair to them. 13. Juventus I'm getting a little sick of joining other club's for tournies and hearing them laugh when they are matched with Juventus. Juventus can be a bit inconsistent but they will take games off of good teams. They look good when they are playing their best. I would like to see some of the bigger personalities on this team take a back seat and hold themselves more accountable for their own mistakes instead of worrying how the team is playing as a group. This team gets better by just LISTENING to DJ, shutting up and playing the game. 14. Torino F.C This is a team with a lot of talent at the front and the back. I think the ownership have done a good job. However, in a league with 16 teams, not everyone can be at the top. I see a lot of players with some entitlement issues. When this team finds themselves at mid table I predict an implosion between the personalities. This team does well if they actually go into the league respecting the other teams and the project they are a part of. Long-Term Projects. 15. U.S. Sassuolo Calcio This team actually made some good moves between this power-ranking and the last. I like their midfield but the team still lacks star-power. This is a management team I see that won't give up and if things don't work immediately, they will keep working until they find something that works for them. 16. Cagliari Calcio I was hoping that the management of this team would use some of their spending money to enhance this squad. Preseason should have been a wakeup call. It just doesn't seem like there is any direction. None of their players are on contract and I don't see a point. I hope the only reason I don't see the point is because I am not a part of this club. Conclusion: I felt some big shifts in the mid-table. I still feel competition is close so this time around, I placed teams in brackets. Teams within these brackets could finish anywhere within them honestly.
