Impressive starts by Napoli and Roma in the Serie A: Is the tide shifting?

Gonzalo Higuain looks on during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on September 28, 2013 in Genoa, Italy. (Getty Images)

The Serie A season has witnessed the rise of two teams in Roma and Napoli, who presently hold the top two positions in the leader board by virtue of their superlative performances till now.

Roma currently top the table with a flawless record in their first six games and Napoli is placed second with sixteen points (five wins and a draw). It has been an exceptional start of the season for both the teams as they have defeated the likes of AC Milan and Lazio respectively in the early days, and are looking strong to carry on with this sort of form.

What is interesting is that both Napoli and Roma lost some of their key players in the summer transfer market. Napoli parted ways with their talismanic striker Edinson Cavani, who was bought by French champions PSG, while Hugo Campegnaro joined Inter Milan.

Roma also sold talented players like Daniel Pablo Osvaldo (to Southampton), Erik Lamela (to Tottenham) and Marquinhos (to PSG) in a turbulent transfer window. The start of the season also saw managerial changes in both the clubs with Rafa Benitez taking charge of Napoli and Roma appointing Rudi Garcia as the man in charge.

Napoli is a club with rich heritage in the Italian football scene with two Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia titles. The team is the fourth most successful club in Italy and is looking to win the championship for the first time since 1990. The club started the new season in excellent fashion by winning at the San Siro (a feat not achieved since 1986 when Diego Maradona was a part of the team), ensuring that they should be considered challengers for the Scudetto this year.

The club strengthened their squad by adding quality players like Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Dries Mertens (PSV), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) José Callejón (Real Madrid)and experienced goalkeeper Pepe Reina on loan (Liverpool) by using the money they received from the €64 million transfer of Cavani to big spending Paris Saint Germain.

Benitez has been successful in utilising his resources till now with Higuain scoring in each of the last three Serie A matches and forming a formidable striking partnership with Marek Hamsik. The club faced a reality check in their defeat against Arsenal in the Champions League, but can still be considered as major contenders this season.