Serie A this season may be more competitive than the last few seasons. Until now, six teams still have a chance to be the best in the standings. The results of the ninth week are proof that four "dark horses" teams actually control the top four. So, even though traditional forces remain as favorites like AC Milan, the competition for the Scudetto or Serie A champions this season will be much tighter and it is not impossible that a new champion will be born again.
Napoli can hardly be called a dark horse and they are right now leading the tournament table. They are consistently in the top and I would not be surprised if they become champions - they have been close to this achievement for too long. As for Atalanta, Lazio and Udinese, I would be surprised if they manage to stay in the top 4. Their advantage even relative to Inter is too small to even dream about it before even a third of all games have been played.