Inter Milan will begin their Serie A title defense against Genoa, while ambitious Como will face Juventus in their first top-flight encounter in nearly two decades, according to the 2024/25 season fixture list released on Thursday.

Inter, coached by Simone Inzaghi, won the Scudetto last season and will attempt to keep it under new management after US investment group Oaktree purchased the club in May.

Oaktree took over Inter just days after they were officially named Italian champions, when former owners Suning failed to repay a three-year debt worth 395 million euros ($428 million).

Sporting CEO Giuseppe Marotta, who was hired by Chinese firm Suning in 2018 and is regarded as the architect of Inter’s recent success, was named president last month.

After their initial encounter against Genoa on August 18, Inter will host Lecce and Europa League holders Atalanta at home before travelling to Monza and facing local rivals AC Milan in the fifth round of fixtures in September.

Como has had a fantastic start to its first Serie A season in 21 years at Juve, who recruited Thiago Motta as their new coach last month after dismissing Massimiliano Allegri.

Como, backed by Indonesian tobacco giants Djarum, has risen up the ranks after being acquired in 2019 after repeated bankruptcies.

Como, a world-renowned lakeside city in northern Italy, has former Arsenal teammates Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry as minority proprietors.

Fabregas also serves as an assistant to first-team coach Osian Roberts. Como will play their first three games away from home, against Juventus, Cagliari, and Udinese, to enable the club finish work on its Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium, which currently does not satisfy Serie A standards.

In mid-September, they will play their first home encounter against Bologna, one of Italy’s five clubs in the new Champions League.

Atalanta will also play their first three games away from the Gewiss Stadium, whose reconstruction is nearly finished.

Parma and Venezia, both promoted teams, will face Fiorentina and Lazio on the first day of the season.

Matches for the upcoming season, which ends on May 25, will be spread out across each weekend, with one on Friday night, three on Saturday, five on Sunday, and the final on Monday night.

Only two matches will take place on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m., as is customary.

The first three rounds of matches, in August and early September, will all take place in the evening to avoid the worst of the summer heat.