Serie A: Points Up for Grabs in Bergamo

Atalanta vs Napoli

Fifth plays second when the Serie A game between Atalanta and Napoli is the box office clash in Bergamo on Saturday, and there will be no holds barred as both teams go in hunt of a vital win.

After the international break, we expect the top teams to come out all guns blazing and these two are among the best attacking outfits in Europe.

The hosts are chasing a Champions League place, having slipped off the pace in recent weeks, while their visitors have their eyes on the big prize – three points behind Scudetto frontrunners AC Milan.

Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli went into the international break with a 2-1 win at home to Udinese while Atalanta won 1-0 away to Bologna, and the next three points on offer would be a huge boost for the victors. 

Talking Points

Atalanta trying to stop the slide 

Gian Piero Gasperini has been at the Atalanta helm since 2016. And in that time, La Dea has become one of the most swashbuckling sides in the game, impressing in their domestic league and in Europe.

And this season too Atalanta have been free scorers. But in recent weeks, beset by injury problems, positive Serie A 2022 results have been harder to come by and the victory over Bologna was only their second in nine games.

La Dea have been going well in the Europa League, beating Bayer Leverkusen over two legs but the busy fixture list may have taken its toll. 

Atalanta are now eight points behind fourth-placed Juventus with a game in hand and they will go into this game without top scorer Duvan Zapata as well as Rafael Toloi and Josip Ilicic.

In Zapata’s absence, midfield ace Mario Pasalic has moved into a more advanced position and has scored nine goals and made six assists.

And there may be more game time for 18-year-old Moustapha Cisse, who climbed off the bench to score the 82^nd-minute winner against Bologna when Pasilic made the assist with a well-timed through ball.

Osimhen out for Napoli

Napoli too have a few injury headaches and a particularly irritating absence for Spalletti as his in-form striker Victor Osimhen picked up an injury time yellow card in his last outing and will sit this one out.

Osimhen has recently returned from a horrific head injury and has been in hot form. He scored a brace in Napoli’s win over Hellas Verona and followed that up with another two against Udinese.

That made it 11 goals from 20 games for the Nigerian hitman, but he was booked for handball as he blocked a late Udinese effort.    

So Spalletti will once again rely on the old guard of skipper Lorenzo Insigne and fellow attacking midfielder Dries Mertens to keep the goals flowing. They have scored seven each and are have both been consistently at the top of their game for a decade.

Insigne bagged the opener in a vital 2-1 win over Lazio recently and Fabian Ruiz scored the 94^th-minute winner, and too is in fine form so there are plenty of options to fill the scoring gap left by Osimhen.

Spalletti also has great confidence in his defence led by Kalidou Koulibaly. And all 11 players who take the pitch will know that a victory could draw Napoli level with Milan at the top. 

History

There is just a knife-edge between these two teams when you look at their head-to-heads.  La Dea have the narrowest lead at 17 victories to 16 and there have been 14 draws in all competitions since 1993.

Atalanta have won the last three, most recently a 3-2 victory in Naples in December.  La Dea came from 2-1 down to win as Remo Freuler scored a late winner to stop Napoli’s early season title charge. 

The Serie A 2022 betting odds tell us we’re in for a fascinating 90 plus minutes in Bergamo, so let’s take a look at the betting options and make a pick. 

Betting Tip

Atalanta are marginal favourites at odds of 2.33, while the Draw is at 3.11 and Napoli is at 2.89 to take a vital three points. 

A 1-1 draw is the most likely scoreline at SBOTOP odds of 5.41 and that won’t particularly suit either team.

The Serie A title race has exploded into life in recent weeks as Inter have stuttered, and I think Napoli’s chances of winning the Scudetto are higher than Atalanta’s chances of making a top four spot while Juventus are in such a rich vein of form. That extra incentive could drive the Azzurri on to success in Bergamo.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.