As many as eight teams could be involved in the battle against relegation when the 2008/09 Serie A gets underway later this month.
Apart from the newly-promoted trio of Chievo, Bologna and Lecce, there is also a general belief that Torino, Siena, Cagliari, Catania and Reggina will find it hard to cope with the demanding standards of the top division.
It is difficult to predict who will go down but making home advantage count and consistency are two crucial factors in the relegation battle.
Gianni De Biasi has finally been given his first chance to lead a team from the start of a Serie A season after taking over Torino for the umpteenth time. The ex-Modena coach had guided Torino to Serie A promotion at the end of the 2005/06 season but was relieved of his duties soon after.
At the time, club president and owner Urbano Cairo handed the coaching job to the more-experienced Alberto Zaccheroni. A year later, Cairo appointed Walter Novellino as coach but the negative results under Zaccheroni and the ex-Sampdoria mentor proved the president wrong.
Had it not been for De Biasi, who took over the reins of the team in different periods in the past two seasons, then Torino would probably not have managed to stay in the Serie A.
Torino have practically retained the same squad as last season, bar the signings of Nicola Amoruso (Reggina), Elvis Abbruscato (Lecce) Jurgen Saumel (Sturm Graz) and Francesco Pratali (Empoli).
Eugenio Corini and David Di Michele will be looking to prove themselves at Torino after a dismal campaign. The Granata now need to reduce their squad and possibly sign another striker as a lack of firepower was arguably their main weakness last season.
Marco Giampaolo, formerly of Cagliari, has a tough task replacing Mario Beretta at Siena. The Tuscany outfit have shown the back door to veterans Enrico Chiesa, Thomas Locatelli and Valerio Bertotto to free up space for their up-and-coming youngsters. Siena have also lost the services of Austrian goalkeeper Alex Manninger.
Few notable signings and the arrival of a number of untried youngsters make Siena one of the likely candidates for relegation.
Cagliari, like Siena, have lost an inspirational leader after the departure of coach Davide Ballardini.
The team from Sardinia looked down and out in the opening four months of the season but under Ballardini, results improved and Cagliari managed to beat the drop.
Former club captain Massimiliano Allegri is the new man at the helm of Cagliari.
By and large, Cagliari have remained unchanged compared to last season. It all depends on the new coach who will be keen on proving himself in the top division.
Walter Zenga steered Catania clear of relegation towards the end of the season. Now, the former Inter, Sampdoria and Italy goalkeeper will begin his first full season as a Serie A coach.
Catania have been very active in the transfer market. They have sold defender Juan Manuel Vargas to Fiorentina but Zenga has brought in a number of promising players, including the highly-rated Argentine Pablo Ledesma from Boca Juniors. The newcomers are relishing the chance to make the grade in the Serie A.
Minnows Reggina can no longer rely on experienced players Nicola Amoruso (Torino) and Francesco Modesto (Genoa). Bernardo Corradi, formerly of Lazio and Man. City, will be expected to fill the void left by the departure of Amoruso.
Reggina have kept hold of their best players. Like Zenga, coach Nevio Orlandi has been confirmed after helping Reggina avoid relegation last term.
Bologna have been one of the busiest clubs in the close season. The acquisition of a number of experienced players, including Christian Zenoni, Sergio Volpi (both from Sampdoria) and Gaby Mudingayi (Lazio) should improve Bologna's chances of avoiding an immediate return to the Serie B.
Coach Daniele Arrigoni will have to ensure that Bologna, now fully owned by new president Renzo Menarini, maintain the progress they showed last term to keep their Serie A status.
Chievo and Lecce have been less active than Bologna in so far as new signings are concerned.
Beretta, who has replaced Giuseppe Papadopulo as Lecce coach, is willing to emulate his achievements at Siena.
Lecce have signed three important players in promising striker Daniele Cacia (Fiorentina) and two experienced midfielders in Fabio Caserta (Palermo) and Guillermo Giacomazzi (Empoli).
Chievo have confirmed coach Giuseppe Iachini for another season. At the time of writing, the club had only made one significant signing, that of goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.
It seems all too little for the Verona outfit to keep their place in the top division. But in past seasons Chievo have proved the pundits wrong on many an occasion.
Can they do it again?