Carlo Ancelotti has managed in all the top leagues across Europe and the Italian took some time off his busy schedule to predict who will win La Liga, Premier League, Ligue 1 and Serie A and who will be the top scorer in each of those leagues.
This year’s La Liga title race promises to go down to the wire with both Real Madrid and Barcelona looking very strong. Speaking to Rai productions, Ancelotti analysed Europe’s major leagues and gave his predictions.
“In Spain, it is going to be difficult, but I think after several years of not winning it, Real Madrid will return to win the league and Cristiano will end as the top scorer.” Real Madrid last won the league in 2011/12 season under Jose Mourinho, and have since then fallen short of their great rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the title race. However, Ancelotti has backed his former club to outsmart Barcelona and Atletico in the title race.
In Serie A, unsurprisingly, Ancelotti chose Juventus as favourites to claim an incredible 6th straight Scudetto title. Although the Turin giants have lost Pogba to Manchester United this summer, they have strenghtened their squad considerably with the arrival of players like Gonzalo Higuain, Miralem Pjanic and Dani Alves. Ancelotti picked Higuain to live up to his price tag and finish as Serie A’s top scorer.
Ligue 1, he picked Paris Saint Germain to blow away the competition like last season. The Ligue 1 champs might have lost to Monaco before the international break, but the Italian believes that PSG have too much quality in their squad to miss out on the Ligue 1 title. He also picked Cavani to win the Golden boot in France. The Uruguayan has been in woeful form at the start of the season, but Ancelotti expects him to soon rediscover his goalscoring form.
Ancelotti seemed hesitant to put his neck out and predict a winner in the Premier League, but he eventually went for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, although he believed Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be top scorer. Both the Manchester sides along with Chelsea have got off to perfect starts winning 3 out of 3 and it will indeed be interesting to see who comes out on top in the Premier League this season.
Ancelotti’s predictions:
| League | Winner | Top Scorer |
| La Liga | Real Madrid | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Serie A | Juventus | Gonzalo Higuain |
| Ligue 1 | PSG | Edinson Cavani |
| Premier League | Manchester City | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
