Monday’s encounter between Atalanta and Hellas Verona at the Gewiss Stadium will serve to drop the curtain on Serie A Matchday 33. After several underwhelming results, La Dea look destined to finish outside the top four for the first time since the 2017/18 season.
Atalanta head into this fixture on the back of a 2-0 home defeat to RB Leipzig that brought their topsy-turvy European campaign to a halt. They can now turn their attention towards Serie A, where they currently languish five points adrift of the last European qualification spot. Therefore, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side cannot afford another slip-up.
On the other hand, Verona suffered a comfortable 2-0 defeat away to reigning champions Inter last time out, yet they are all but set for another mid-table finish. In fact, the Gialloblu could record back-to-back tenth-place finishes unless major developments down the final stretch of the season.
Match Preview
Atalanta
Gasperini’s men have won their last two Serie A outings by an aggregate score of 5-2, conceding an opening goal within half an hour of play on both occasions. Indeed, form has not been kind to La Dea of late, with just one win from their five previous league matches (D1, L3), netting under 1.5 goals in each game across this sequence.
But there’s a silver lining for the Bergamo outfit here. Under Gasperini’s stewardship, Atalanta have racked up five victories across their seven Serie A meetings with Verona (D1, L1). That’s probably the only positive for the hosts at this point.
Atalanta are winless in their last three home fixtures across all competitions (D1, L2), failing to get on the scoresheet twice. While they were comfortably the most prolific Serie A side over the past couple of seasons, La Dea have underperformed this season.
It’s enough to say Verona (56) have netted more league goals than Atalanta (53) this season to understand the extent of the home team’s struggle.
Hellas Verona
Verona’s indifferent league form has seen them pick up just one win from their last five Serie A matches (D2, L2). Low scoring has been a common theme during that five-game sequence. Indeed, four of those games have featured under 2.5 total goals, mainly due to Hellas’ scoring woes.
Igor Tudor’s men have scored one goal or fewer in their last five Serie A outings, having bagged 2+ goals in three consecutive league fixtures beforehand. Verona cannot take much comfort defensively-wise either, having conceded at least once in their last 20 league games on the road.
Other than sides currently stuck in the relegation zone, only Cagliari (33) have conceded more Serie A away goals than Verona (29) this season. The Gialloblu are unlikely to turn things around if they ship the opener, as evidenced by their 87.5% winless ratio across such away contests (W1, D3, L4).
Atalanta vs Hellas Verona Prediction
Atalanta will be under pressure to deliver in front of the attending home fans, but Verona will likely give them a run for their money. We back both sides to score. Outright market-wise, we expect Gasperini’s team to pick up all three points.