Juventus should have no problem finishing in the top three in Serie A again this season, club chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said.

Juve did extremely well to finish third last season, its first back in the top flight since its 2006 demotion for match-fixing.

Inter Milan edged out second-placed AS Roma for the scudetto and is favorite again for the new season, which kicks off this weekend.

Usual title contender AC Milan crawled in fifth in May but with Ronaldinho on board it is expected to put up more of a challenge.

Fiorentina, fourth last season, has also made some big investments but Cobolli Gigli remains confident.

"With the squad we have we should not have any difficulty finishing in the top three in the league," the chairman told Reuters in an interview.

An assault on the title is not beyond big-spending Juve.

Claudio Ranieri's side has bought Palermo striker Amauri for 22.8 million euros ($34 million) to complement forwards Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Sweden center back Olof Mellberg joined on a free transfer from England's Aston Villa while exciting playmaker Sebastian Giovinco has returned from a loan spell at Empoli.

Christian Poulsen cost almost 10 million euros from Sevilla but Juve fans did not immediately take the Dane to their hearts given the midfielder's reputation as a rough competitor after run-ins with Italian players in the past.

"I'd like to mention Poulsen. He has been a bit of a controversial buy but Poulsen has shown he is a great long passer, passing the ball 40m to feet consistently," Cobolli Gigli said.

Poulsen was especially effective in Juve's 4-0 win over Artmedia Bratislava in their Champions League third-qualifying round first leg two weeks ago.

Progression to the group stage looks a formality for the twice European champion, who was last in the competition two years ago before being banned in the match-fixing affair.

"For me the Champions League is the most important thing. It seems to me we have good prospects," the chairman said.

"I've seen some lovely play, a strong midfield and very few errors."

(Agencies via China Daily August 27, 2008)