Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at the Gewiss Stadium as Atalanta and Inter face each other in a mouth-watering contest. Bergamo will be ‘black & blue’ this weekend, with the two European hopefuls battling it out for fifth place in the standings.
Atalanta head into this top-six Serie A six-pointer in the midst of a rough patch after finding themselves on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline against Lecce and Napoli in the past seven days. While Gian Piero Gasperini’s side could have an excuse for losing to the most in-form European team, a midweek toppling at Stadio Via del Mare didn’t go down well with the Bergamo faithful.
Despite going toe-to-toe with top-placed Napoli for the opening two months of the 2022/23 Serie A season, Atalanta could enter the World Cup break as low as eighth if they fail to recover. However, if they win and Lazio pull off an upset against Juventus in Turin on Sunday night, La Dea may even regain a coveted fourth place ahead of a mid-season pause.
The same goes for Inter, who bounced back from a disheartening 2-0 defeat at Juventus in emphatic fashion. Simone Inzaghi’s men thumped perennial mid-table strugglers Bologna 6-1 at Giuseppe Meazza on Wednesday to alleviate some pressure on their manager’s shoulders amid another sub-par top-flight start.
Federico Dimarco stole the spotlight as he notched up a brace to improve the mindset of fifth-placed Inter ahead of this potentially season-defining trip. Accused of falling flat in high-profile fixtures, Inzaghi has come under heavy scrutiny despite navigating the Nerazzurri to the Champions League knockouts.
Another collapse against direct top-four rivals could come back to haunt the former Lazio boss, especially if the other Champions League hopefuls make the most out of their weekend assignments.
Match Preview
Atalanta
Atalanta’s momentum from the early stage of the season is fading away, with La Dea suffering three defeats across their last four Serie A outings (W1), conceding precisely twice in each reverse. After losing to the likes of Lazio and Napoli in their two most recent league games at the Gewiss Stadium, the hosts are staring down the barrel of an unwanted piece of history.
You’d have to go back to 1997 for the last time Atalanta lost three consecutive home matches in Serie A. It perhaps best illustrates Gasperini’s desperation to get back to the win column against such a formidable opposition. But based on their recent fortunes against Inter, that could be easier said than done.
Atalanta last tasted victory against the Nerazzurri in Serie A in November 2018. They have since gone winless in seven consecutive league meetings with the 19-time Serie A champions (D5, L2), scoring more than once per game on one occasion. With this season’s standout forward Luis Muriel out with injury, they seem unlikely to turn their scoring fortunes around.
Inter
Inter would be well advised to avoid letting their eye-catching return of five wins from their last six Serie A fixtures trick them into believing they could steamroll past Atalanta. As mentioned above, Inzaghi’s inability to inspire his side against fellow top-table opponents has become a nasty habit.
As bizarre as it sounds, Inter have lost all five Serie A clashes against the sides starting this round in the top eight, conceding 2+ goals on every occasion. Unless Inzaghi finds a formula to make his team thrive in such match-ups, not only can Inter slip further down the standings, but he may risk losing his job.
There’s no better way to motivate himself than painting his 250th Serie A game as a manager with flying colors. But Inter could only manage a dull ‘nil-nil’ draw in this corresponding fixture last season, putting themselves in an awkward spot ahead of this encounter.
Inter could fire blanks in back-to-back league matches against Atalanta for the first time in the new millennium. Based on their scoring drought in Turin last weekend, they are right to be concerned about their chances in Bergamo.
Atalanta vs Inter Milan Potential Line-ups
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Juan Musso; Merih Demiral, Rafael Toloi, Giorgio Scalvini; Hans Hateboer, Teun Koopmeiners, Mario Pasalic, Brandon Soppy; Ederson; Ademola Lookman, Duvan Zapata.
Inter Milan (3-5-2): Andre Onana; Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar; Denzel Dumfries, Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolo Barella, Roberto Gagliardini, Federico Dimarco; Edin Dzeko, Lautaro Martinez.