The 2025-26 Serie A season is nearing the home stretch in Italy. Napoli started the campaign as defending champions after winning the 2024-25 title, their fourth Scudetto ever on the last matchday of the season, but it's Inter who are close to winning the Serie A crown this season, while other teams such as AC Milan, Napoli, AS Roma, Atalanta, Juventus, and Como are all in contention for a spot in next season's European tournaments. This week's Serie A slate features some interesting matchups, such as the much-awaited AC Milan home game against Juventus on Sunday. Elsewhere, Claudio Ranieri left the AS Roma front office. Here's what to know.
The news was in the air, and now it's also official that Claudio Ranieri, the legendary coach who also won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016, has left his role at AS Roma as senior advisor of the Friedkin family, the owners of the Italian club. After taking charge of the managerial job in November 2024 until the end of the past season, Ranieri stepped down from his role and became advisor to the owners, leading them to appoint Gian Piero Gasperini as the new manager. Gasperini and Ranieri had some disagreements over the season, according to multiple reports, which were also surprisingly confirmed by the same advisor before the last AS Roma home game against Pisa. "In the summer, I noted the names of five or six coaches, three of them turned us down. Then the club decided to appoint Gasperini. He was chosen for what he achieved at Atalanta, developing young players and bringing them up to a high level, and that's exactly what we expect from him. We handed him a team that finished just one point shy of the Champions League last season, along with a few additional young players to nurture and develop."
The club had to take a decision between the coach and the advisor, who is a well-respected figure at the club and also for the fans, but they decided to commit with Gasperini for the long term, as announced in the statement confirming the news on Friday.
"The Club would like to thank Claudio for his significant contributions to Roma. He led the team through a very challenging time and we will always be grateful for his efforts. As we look to the future, our direction is clear. The Club is strong, with solid leadership and a defined vision. AS Roma will always come first. We have full confidence in the path ahead under Gian Piero Gasperini, with the shared objective of growing, improving, and delivering results worthy of our history."
Friday, April 24Napoli vs. Cremonese, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Saturday, April 25Parma vs. Pisa, 9 a.m. (Paramount+)Bologna vs. AS Roma, 12 p.m. (Paramount+)Hellas Verona vs. Lecce, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Sunday, April 26Fiorentina vs. Sassuolo, 6:30 a.m. (Paramount+)Genoa vs. Como, 9 a.m. (Paramount+)Torino vs. Inter, 12 p.m. (Paramount+)AC Milan vs. Juventus, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Monday, April 27Cagliari vs. Atalanta, 12:30 p.m. (Paramount+)Lazio vs. Udinese, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)