5 bold predictions for the rest of the Serie A season

After first and second place, the Serie A table isn't what we expected.

AC Milan's resurgence is a long time coming, but few would've thought the Rossoneri would enjoy success before the completion of the much-ballyhooed Chinese takeover; Inter, meanwhile, has descended into chaos despite hefty investment over the past year. Only nine points separate table-topper Juventus and sixth-place Napoli, leaving more than enough time for a few upsets at the top of the table.

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Here are five bold predictions after 12 matches this season.

Belotti to win Serie A scoring crown

The obvious candidate to be the next Capocannoniere is Gonzalo Higuain, who last season set a modern-day Serie A record with 36 goals. He's not on pace to get anywhere close to that figure, and it was always going to be tougher to achieve in a squad of equals at Juventus than it was on a Napoli team built around him.

So the scoring race is wide open. Edin Dzeko and Mauro Icardi share the lead on 10 goals apiece, but the man to watch is Andrea Belotti. The Torino poacher has enjoyed the best football of his career in the opening months of the season, emerging as penalty-box specialist under Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Belotti is Italy's best striker at the moment, and at 22 years old, he's only on the way up.

AC Milan to make Champions League

Finishing in eighth, 10th, and seventh over the past three seasons, Milan has never been so far away from European competition. It's hurt supporters of the Rossoneri hard. This is a club that's prided itself on European success.

But Vincenzo Montella will lead Milan back to the promised land, doing what several of his predecessors couldn't do with lesser squads.

It's not like Montella has made a slew of signings. He's tapped into the young core of players who feel and understand the weight of the shirt. Seventeen-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma was already a starter by the time Montella arrived, but the former Fiorentina boss has provided new opportunities to fresh-faced Italian starlets Manuel Locatelli and Davide Calabria. The wave of optimism will carry this team back into Europe's premier tournament.

Inter to finish outside top 10

The goal in August was Champions League qualification, but at its current rate of fluctuation, Inter will likely end up out of the top 10.

There's nothing to indicate Stefano Pioli is the right man to lead the Nerazzurri up the standings. Pioli himself has jumped from job to job across the Italian leagues, and it would take a great effort to see out his year-and-a-half contract.

Inter simply lacks the continuity to make any kind of push. After securing a famous 2-1 win over Juventus in September, this team collapsed to a 4-1-6 record across all competitions.

Sassuolo to get relegated

The joy of qualifying for the Europa League in May could well turn into sadness a year later.

Sassuolo - which had never before played in continental competition - is already feeling the effects of playing in multiple competitions. A long-term injury to key striker Domenico Berardi has robbed manager Eusebio Di Francesco's of the team's finest goal-scorer, and he's now struggling to find the depth in his squad to fulfill a proper rotation.

Di Francesco did an impeccable job to lift Sassuolo to sixth place last season, but it's now the victim of its own success.

Napoli to miss European qualification

The loss of Arkadiusz Milik to an ACL injury has yet to really hurt Napoli, which has found goals from the likes of Jose Callejon, Marek Hamsik, and Dries Mertens.

But manager Maurizio Sarri may not have accounted for problems at the back. Batting away interest from Chelsea and Everton to keep Kalidou Koulibaly was a noble effort from the Partenopei, but the Senegalese and the rest of the Napoli defenders have lacked the aerial awareness and composure to keep clean sheets. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina, too, has let in a few soft goals, prompting questions as to when 25-year-old Luigi Sepe will get a chance.

Sarri's also hesitated to rotate his squad with regularity, leaving the potential for burnout later in the campaign.

Napoli's qualified for Europe in each of the past six seasons, but that spell is likely to end if it can't put together consistent performances on each end of the pitch.