Atalanta vs Lazio
Second plays fifth at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Sunday in one of Europe’s most enticing matches of the weekend. This Serie A game between Atalanta and Lazio is box office stuff.
Atalanta come into the game on the back of a 2-1 victory over Sassuolo and are one of only four teams in the big European leagues to remain unbeaten alongside Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Scudetto leaders Napoli. Meanwhile, Lazio drew 0-0 at home to Udinese after a run of big wins, and I Biancocelesti could leapfrog their hosts with a win.
Atalanta are eyeing top spot and a victory might well be enough to lift La Dea to the summit, as leaders Napoli have a difficult away trip to Roma who currently sit fourth in the table.
It all adds up to a fascinating weekend in the Italian league, and that’s before we even consider the fixtures for the Milan giants and Juventus.
Talking Points
Lookman is Atalanta’s big find
La Dea is going through a period of quiet transition under long-time manager Gian Piero Gasperini. So long the most attacking and free scoring team in Europe, Atalanta still play attractive football, but a little less swashbuckling.
After an eighth place finish last season, many Italian football fans expected Atalanta to be on the periphery of the top four race but they are in the thick of it, and the form of summer recruit Ademola Lookman is one of the reasons why.
The former Leicester City and RB Leipzig winger has settled quickly in Bergamo and has taken on some of the scoring responsibility, with the legendary duo of Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata only scoring one between them.
Lookman has bagged four, including one in a recent clash with the Serie A surprise package Udinese which ended in a 2-2 draw. Lookman has always been an exciting prospect and now at 25 years of age, he is coming into this prime.
Elsewhere, midfield star Teun Koopmeiners is dominant in midfield and he too has scored four, while summer signing Brandon Soppy is performing well with three assists to his name.
La Dea has been coping well with some key absences, including Juan Musso and Zapata and they’ve only scored 16 times so far this season.
They have recorded three 1-0 victories, and at SBOTOP odds of 11.00 to win, the 2022/23 Scudetto are in the mix for the big prize.
Immobile out and Alberto frustrated
Lazio have made a big impression on the early 2022/23 title race, so much so that they are within touching distance of the leaders. But despite his team scoring freely with 21 goals and only Napoli (25) have scored more, manager Maurizio Sarri has problems to solve up front.
Star striker Ciro Immobile is sidelined and could be out until after the World Cup after limping off with the thigh strain during Lazio’s match with Udinese at the weekend.
Immobile has been nominated for Player of the Year at the Globe Football Awards after winning his fourth Capocannoniere last season and he’ll be a big miss. But the Rome giants have other players who know where the goal is.
Before the 0-0 draw with Udinese, Lazio had registered three consecutive 4-0 Serie A wins in a row, against Cremonese, Spezia, and Fiorentina.
Immobile scored one against Fiorentina and didn’t hit the scoresheet against Spezia. The other goals are coming from 30-year-old Luis Alberto who has scored three alongside midfield general Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and attacking midfielder Mattia Zaccagni.
Alberto has recently expressed his frustration at lack of game time under Sarri. He has only started three of the 10 league games so far, being used as a substitute in the other seven, and the former Liverpool man has been linked with a move to La Liga side Sevilla.
That may be so, but Alberto has his chance now to show he can command a starting place for Lazio and Sarri needs him to keep scoring goals following the unfortunate Serie A 2022 news that Immobile will be out for a while.
History
The Romans have had the better of the head-to-heads, winning 22 of the last 49 encounters while Atalanta have won 14 and there have been 13 draws.
Both games were drawn last year, 2-2 in Bergamo and 0-0 in Rome, and there is little to choose between the two sides in terms of recent form.
Atalanta have won four and drawn two of the last six, while Lazio have won three and drawn three in all competitions.
La Dea are unbeaten at home with three wins and two draws, while Lazio are unbeaten away with two wins and two draws.
Betting Tip
The latest Serie A 2022 betting odds pitch Lazio at 3.64 with the draw at 3.16 but I think the ever-evolving Atalanta will have enough to win this six-pointer in front of their home fans with the advantage of knowing Lazio’s main man is out. However, I think it will be a hard-fought game and, for an alternative bet, 2-3 goals is available at a price of 1.94.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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