Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Serie A clash between Atalanta BC and AC Milan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Having ceded top spot at the weekend, AC Milan will aim to resume winning ways on Tuesday evening, when they make the short trip to meet Atalanta BC.
While still leading La Dea by five points in the Serie A standings, Milan were left frustrated by promoted opponents last time out, allowing Napoli to reclaim first place.
Match preview
Though they remain the only unbeaten team left in Serie A this season, Atalanta are also Italy’s draw specialists, taking a single point from six of their eight league games.
In all, new coach Ivan Juric has only suffered one loss so far – away to European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League – but his team are struggling to post precious wins.
At the weekend, La Dea drew 1-1 with regional rivals Cremonese, as Marco Brescianini‘s superb late strike cancelled out Jamie Vardy‘s opener at Stadio Zini.
As a result, Atalanta have now drawn all of their last five league fixtures – seven of the last 11 across all competitions – and that leaves them trailing behind their fellow European contenders.
Misfiring strikers Nikola Krstovic and Gianluca Scamacca failed to find the net again on Saturday night, and since the start of October, the Nerazzurri have only scored twice.
With Ademola Lookman recently returning from his self-imposed exile, Juric certainly has no shortage of firepower on paper, but they will need to step up against one of Serie A’s meanest back lines.
Atalanta memorably beat Milan both home and away last season, en route to finishing above their Lombardy rivals; another success on Tuesday could kickstart their campaign.
Having lost four of the teams’ last five meetings, Milan’s longstanding supremacy in this fixture seemed to be consigned to the past.
Yet, the revived Rossoneri now sit five points above La Dea before heading to Bergamo – and that gap perhaps should be a little wider.
On Friday night, Milan failed to beat winless Pisa at San Siro, requiring a last-gasp leveller from unheralded substitute Zachary Athekame to save their blushes.
The Swiss wing-back struck from almost 30 yards out in the 93rd minute, rescuing a 2-2 draw from the jaws of defeat, but Napoli’s subsequent win over Inter Milan saw the Rossoneri lose top spot.
Still, Massimiliano Allegri‘s men are now eight games unbeaten across all competitions, with the returning head coach insisting his aim is to reach the Champions League rather than challenge for the Scudetto.
Having already beaten Napoli, Milan’s title credentials will be put to the test again this week, as they must face Atalanta and Roma in quick succession – then, late next month, they will meet old foes Inter.
Atalanta BC Serie A form:
W W D D D D
Atalanta BC form (all competitions):
D W D D D D
AC Milan Serie A form:
W W W D W D
AC Milan form (all competitions):
W W W D W D
Team News
Despite his team’s lack of wins, Juric has at least seen Atalanta’s long absence list shrink in recent weeks: only Mitchel Bakker and Giorgio Scalvini are still unavailable.
After captain Marten de Roon filled in at the back against Cremonese, it remains to be seen whether he will return to central midfield, thereby opening the door for promising defender Honest Ahanor to start.
Once again, Lookman will fight with Kamaldeen Sulemana, Lazar Samardzic and ex-Milan man Charles De Ketelaere for selection in the final third, while Krstovic and Scamacca vie to lead La Dea’s front line.
Milan’s attack should feature Rafael Leao, who has scored three times in his last two matches, but Santiago Gimenez could potentially lose his place.
In the ongoing absence of Christian Pulisic, the Mexican striker made little impact against Pisa, so Allegri may shuffle an injury-hit pack.
Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot, Pervis Estupinan, Ardon Jashari and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all been sidelined, though the latter is now back in training and could play some part.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Ahanor; Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Zalewski; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Scamacca
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Ricci, Bartesaghi; Nkunku, Leao
We say: Atalanta BC 0-1 AC Milan
Atalanta’s sequence of Serie A draws may finally end – but not in the way fans of the Bergamaschi would wish.
Aside from a couple of aberrations against promoted opponents, Milan have new-found resilience since Allegri’s return, so the Rossoneri can collect maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
No Data Analysis info
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole‘s daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!
