Atalanta will be desperate to get their pursuit of a fourth successive Serie A top-four finish back on the rails when they take on title-bidding Napoli at the Gewiss Stadium. On the other hand, Luciano Spalletti’s side remain firmly in the race for their first Scudetto since 1989/90.
Atalanta have fallen off the top-four pace following a series of underwhelming performances since the start of February. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men currently trail fourth-placed Juventus by eight points. But with a game in hand, they could still make up that ground in the remainder of the season.
Napoli headed into March’s international break on the back of a come-from-behind 2-1 home victory over bottom-half Udinese. The Partenopei sit only three points below table-topping Milan, and with eight rounds left to go, there’s still plenty of time for them to leapfrog the Rossoneri.
Match Preview
Atalanta
The 18-year-old teenager Moustapha Cisse scored on his senior debut for Atalanta to fire his side past mid-table Bologna last time out. Before claiming a narrow 1-0 triumph at Dall’Ara, La Dea had gone two consecutive Serie A games without scoring.
Although Atalanta established themselves as the most prolific side in Serie A over the past couple of years, scoring has not been their strong suit this calendar year. They have failed to get on the scoresheet in five of their last nine league outings.
Gasperini’s men have picked up just three wins across their last 12 Serie A games (D5, L4), averaging only 1.2 goals per match throughout the second half of the season. Against this backdrop, they have bagged 3+ goals in each of their last three competitive meetings with Napoli (W3), including a 3-2 win in the reverse fixture in December.
Napoli
Napoli have bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Milan in their top-table six-pointer by winning back-to-back Serie A fixtures by an identical 2-1 scoreline. Spalletti’s men are unbeaten in their last eight away league matches (W5, D3) since going down at Inter in late November.
The Partenopei have scored precisely two goals in four of their six Serie A away games in 2022 while conceding one or less on each occasion. Indeed, Napoli have gained 34 points after 15 Serie A travels, their second-best points tally at this stage of a top-flight season.
Except for the abovementioned loss to Inter, Napoli have gone unbeaten in their remaining 14 Serie A travels this term (W10, D4), with only top-placed Milan bettering their away record. Defensively robust, they have conceded the division’s joint-low 11 goals on hostile turf this Serie A season.
Atalanta vs Napoli Team News
Captain Rafael Toloi and hardest-hitter Duvan Zapata are still unavailable for selection in the Bergamo camp. However, Atalanta will welcome Aleksei Miranchuk and Ruslan Malinovskyi back to the fold after the duo missed out on the team’s trip to Bologna last time out.
Long-term absentee Josip Ilicic will remain on the sidelines. With some of his best-performing attackers ruled out, Gasperini could use Jeremie Boga as Luis Muriel’s partner up top. The club-record signing has yet to settle at the Gewiss Stadium. But his recent cameo performance against Bayer Leverkusen was inspiring.
As for Napoli, standout striker Victor Osimhen serves a one-match ban for accumulated bookings. The same goes for Amir Rrahmani. Alex Meret and Giovanni Di Lorenzo are still on the sidelines due to injuries, while Piotr Zielinski could also skip his side’s visit to Bergamo.
The 27-year-old was forced off Poland’s 2022 World Cup play-offs final against Sweden with an injury. He will be out of the matchday squad in all likelihood. On the bright side, Fabian Ruiz has regained full fitness and he should start in Bergamo.
Atalanta Potential Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Juan Musso; Merih Demiral, Jose Luis Palomino, Berat Djimsiti; Hans Hateboer, Remo Freuler, Teun Koopmeiners, Davide Zappacosta; Ruslan Malinovskyi, Jeremie Boga; Luis Muriel.
Napoli Potential Starting XI (4-3-3): David Ospina; Kevin Malcuit, Kalidou Koulibaly, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Stanislav Lobotka, Zambo Anguissa, Fabian Ruiz; Matteo Politano, Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne.