Soccer-Serie A club-by-club guide

MILAN, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Club-by-club preview ahead of the start of the Serie A season on Aug 22: JUVENTUS The titleholders have undergone the biggest overhaul since the 2011-12 season when they began their run of four successive titles. Veteran playmaker Andrea Pirlo, present in all four of those campaigns, has departed along with last season's topscorer Carlos Tevez, and tireless midfielder Arturo Vidal. Paulo Dybala, a 21-year-old Argentine of huge promise signed from Palermo, is seen as an outstanding prospect, although it is asking a lot for him to replace Tevez. AS ROMA Runners-up for the last two seasons, Roma have been somewhat restricted in their signings after falling foul of UEFA's financial fair play rules. Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko is a prolific scorer who should give the attack more bite and Egyptian Mohamed Salah should bring some much-needed flair. LAZIO Brazilian midfielder Felipe Anderson showed flashes of his potential last season and, if he can perform consistently over the whole season, Lazio could at least repeat their third place. FIORENTINA After winning league titles in Israel and Switzerland, flamboyant Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa faces the biggest challenge of his career after replacing Vincenzo Montella. Sousa could be forced to oversee a season of transition following the departure of Mario Gomez, David Pizarro, Juan Vargas and Mohamed Salah. On the plus side, injury-plagued striker Giuseppe Rossi, who has a prolific scoring record, is fit again and raring to go. NAPOLI Coach Rafael Benitez has left after two seasons of exasperating inconsistency and been replaced by chain-smoking Maurizio Sarri, who led Empoli out of Serie B and helped establish them last season in the top flight. Sarri has brought with him inspirational midfielder Mirko Valdifior and Elseid Hysaj. Striker Gonzalo Higuain remains the key player, although, for all his goals, he has an unhappy habit of missing key penalties. GENOA The Griffins may struggle to repeat last season's sixth-place finish after losing key midfielder Andrea Bertolacci and forward Iago Falque. They have also missed out on the Europa League due to an administrative error. SAMPDORIA Former Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga has returned to his homeland after five years of coaching in the Middle East to take charge of Sampdoria. He has a tough act to follow as Sinisa Mihajlovic led Sampdoria from relegation battlers to contenders for a Champions League place during his 18 months in charge. INTER MILAN Roberto Mancini's second stint at the club started unimpressively as they limped in eighth place. With Mancini's spending plans disrupted by UEFA's break-even financial fair play rule, Inter fans could well have to endure another season of transition. TORINO Surpassed expectations by finishing in the top 10 for the last two seasons and managed a rare win over neighbours Juventus last term. Although Leandro Darmian has left for Manchester United, Torino have managed to hold on to other key players and could again challenge for a place in Europe. AC MILAN After two seasons of midtable mediocrity, Sinisa Mihajlovic has been hired to try and put Milan back among the title challengers. They have spent lavishly in the transfer market, splashing out nearly 80 million euros ($88.94 million) on players such as Colombia forward Carlos Bacca, in a clear statement that the age of austerity is over. PALERMO Giuseppe Iachini guided the Sicilians to 11th last season to become only the second coach to survive a whole season on the Palermo bench since Maurizio Zamparini took over the club in 2002. This season, he has to fill the gap left by striker Paulo Dybala's departure to Juventus. SASSUOLO With a population of 40,000, Sassuolo is the smallest town ever be to be represented in Serie A. Set for their third season after having been promoted to the top flight for the first time in 2012/13. VERONA Will be starting their sixth season under coach Andrea Mandorlini who has guided them from the third tier to Serie A since taking over in 2010. Luca Toni, who remarkably was Serie A joint topscorer last season at the age of 38, will again be leading the attack for the 1984/85 champions. EMPOLI Having done better than expected last season by finishing 15th, Empoli are now paying the price for their relative success. Several key players have been lured away including influential midfielder Mirko Valdifiori who has joined Napoli. Coach Maurizio Sarri has also gone to Napoli and been replaced by Giampaolo Marco, who has not lived up to the promise he showed earlier in his career. UDINESE Stefano Colantuono has taken over as coach, replacing Andrea Stramaccioni who could manage only 16th place last term. Udinese face their usual problem of having to rebuild the team following the departure of a number of players, although 37-year-old Antonio Di Natale, who scored 14 goals last season, has delayed his decision to retire. ATALANTA Just clung on to top flight status last season, despite a dismal scoring record of 38 goals in 38 games and only two home wins. May well struggle again this season, although flamboyant Chile striker Mauricio Pinilla offers hope of more goals. CARPI Tiny Carpi, who were playing fifth tier football only six seasons ago, are in the top flight for the first time after a remarkable rise. Based in the town of the same name, with a population of only 67,000, they will be unable to play in their own Sandro Cabassi stadium as it holds only 4,144 people, and will stage matches in Modena's Braglia stadium. FROSINONE Like Carpi, they will be taking part in Serie A for the first time. Coach Roberto Stellone has led them from Serie C to the top flight since he took over in 2012. Unlike Carpi, will play in their own stadium, the Matusa, with a capacity of 10,000. BOLOGNA Delio Rossi, a veteran of 20 years' of the coaching circuit, will lead Bologna in their first season back in the top flight following relegation in 2013/14. With some interesting new signings, they have a fair chance of establishing themselves again in Serie A. ($1 = 0.8995 euros) (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne, editing by Pritha Sarkar)