One of the most highly anticipated fixtures on the early Serie A calendar pits second-placed Atalanta against table-topping Napoli at the Gewiss Stadium. Saturday’s top-table six-pointer in Bergamo comes at an opportune time for the hosts.
The stakes could not be higher as Atalanta bid to haul back a five-point deficit on Napoli, who suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday. Luciano Spalletti’s side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in midweek Champions League action but nonetheless progressed into the competition’s knockouts as Group A winners.
Despite being knocked down from a club-record 13-match winning streak in all competitions, the Partenopei head into proceedings amid a stellar 12-game undefeated Serie A start (W10, D2). Mental fortitude could prove crucial to Napoli’s hopes of lifting the Scudetto for the first time since 1990.
Napoli enjoyed the same 12-fixture start to the league campaign last season but failed to sustain their assault on the title and had to settle for a third-place finish. It’s now up to Spalletti to rally his troops following an underwhelming visit to Anfield and prepare them for a stern test Atalanta will likely put them on this weekend.
La Dea scored on either side of halftime to sink bottom-half Empoli 2-0 on the road last weekend and bounce back from a morale-damaging 2-0 home defeat to Lazio. That loss accounts for Atalanta’s solitary collapse in Serie A this season (W8, D3), highlighting their determination to improve on last season’s abysmal eighth-place finish.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s team can bank on an injury Napoli rising star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia picked up in England as they aim to avenge a dreadful 3-1 defeat in this corresponding fixture last term. But with their talismanic forward Luis Muriel also on the sidelines, the scales look evenly poised ahead of the kick-off.
Match Preview
Atalanta
Before Lazio’s thumping success in Bergamo, Atalanta had been unbeaten in their opening five Serie A home games this season (W3, D2), conceding just twice in that sequence. Though Gasperini looks to have finally tightened up his team’s rearguard, scoring problems have emerged on the other side of the pitch.
A lack of the cutting edge amid Duvan Zapata’s long-term injury has seen Atalanta score a dismal average of 1.33 goals per home league match. That’s a significant markdown on their eye-catching scoring returns that had turned them into the most prolific Serie A side across the past few seasons.
However, Atalanta should be confident about troubling the scoreboard, considering they’ve found the net in their last eight league meetings with Napoli. That may settle the nerves in Bergamo ahead of the home side’s effort to avoid losing back-to-back Serie A home outings for only the second time during Gasperini’s tenure.
Napoli
Liverpool may have knocked them off their perch, but Napoli can still be enthusiastic about their prospects at the Gewiss Stadium after winning their last four away league matches. Another success here would see the Partenopei string together five straight Serie A triumphs on the road under a single manager for the first time since 2017/18 under Maurizio Sarri.
It’s not the only piece of history up for grabs. Coming into this round, Napoli have won eight consecutive Serie A matches and could make it nine on the spin for the first time under Spalletti. Prone to scoring late on hostile turf, they’ve got on the scoresheet beyond the 70th minute on their last three top-flight travels.
Yet, with Kvaratskhelia unavailable for selection, Napoli’s league-high 14-goal tally outside Naples could come under a genuine threat. Against this backdrop, high scoring has been a common theme in their recent Serie A visits to Bergamo. Three of Napoli’s last four away league encounters against Atalanta have seen 3+ goals and both teams scoring.
Atalanta vs Napoli Potential Line-ups
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Juan Musso; Rafael Toloi, Merih Demiral, Berat Djimsiti; Hans Hateboer, Mario Pasalic, Teun Koopmeiners, Brandon Soppy; Ederson; Ademola Lookman, Rasmus Hojlund.
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano.