Atalanta and Fiorentina Badly Need a Serie A Win

Atalanta vs Fiorentina

Two European hopefuls are set to square off on Sunday, as Atalanta will host Fiorentina in one of the highly anticipated Serie A games on the 29^th matchday of the 2023-24 campaign.

As it stands, Atalanta have the upper hand because they’re in sixth place with 47 points, while Fiorentina aren’t far behind in eighth place with 43 points. However, there’s a huge sense of urgency for both sides since time is running out, and both of their recent sets of Serie A 2024 results leave a lot to be desired.

Atalanta and Fiorentina haven’t won in the league in their last two, and although both are coming off draws, getting only one point is not enough.

So, which team do you think will get the full three points from this fixture? Check out our SBOTOP preview below.

Talking Points

Koopmeiners to return to Atalanta’s starting XI

After coming off the bench against Sporting on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie, Teun Koopmeiners is expected to be recalled back in the starting lineup against Fiorentina. He is expected to reunite with Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca up front, relegating Ademola Lookman and Aleksei Miranchuk back to the bench.

The Dutch midfielder leads La Dea in scoring this season with his current tally of 10 goals, tying his league total from last season with five fewer matches (10 goals in 33 appearances in 2022-23).

Two of those came against Juventus, including the 75^th-minute equaliser to salvage a draw at the Allianz Stadium last Sunday.

Koopmeiners has been arguably the best player for Atalanta this season. And because he is garnering significant interest in the transfer market, La Dea would have to do all they can to hold on to him, especially with the likes of Liverpool and Juventus lurking.

Another player that Atalanta would be keen to hold on to is their young centre-back Giorgio Scalvini. The 20-year-old didn’t play against Sporting, so he should reprise his role in the starting XI as part of a three-man centre half.

Belotti needs to fire for Fiorentina

Since Giacomo Bonaventura will have to serve his one-game suspension against Fiorentina and Christian Kouame is out with an illness, Andrea Belotti will likely take his place in the starting lineup to form a front partnership with Lucas Beltran, Antonin Barak, and Nicolas Gonzalez.

Belotti joined Fiorentina during the winter transfer window when he was loaned out of AS Roma, so he is out to prove a point.

The former Torino star scored his first goal for La Viola in their 5-1 rout of Frosinone last month, but he has yet to add to his account in his last five Serie A appearances.

However, he is still a dangerous customer for Atalanta since he has had four goals and one assist in his last five matches against the Bergamo outfit.

History

Fiorentina defeated Atalanta in their first league meeting this season with a 3-2 scoreline in September, as Giacomo Bonaventura, Lucas Martinez Quarta, and Christian Kouame scored for the hosts, while Teun Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman found the back of the net for the visitors at the time.

La Viola have now won three of their last five Serie A matches against Atalanta (D1, L1) after winning only once in the previous 10 Serie A matches against La Dea. If they win again on Sunday, Fiorentina will register their second league double over Atalanta under Vincenzo Italiano after last doing so in 2021-22.

However, Atalanta won their last home match against Fiorentina, which was a 1-0 result in October 2022.

After this league game on Sunday, Atalanta and Fiorentina are set to face off once again in the Coppa Italia semi-finals on April 4.

Betting Tip

The Serie A 2024 odds are in favour of the hosts winning this pivotal weekend match, as Atalanta are 1.86 favourites, whereas Fiorentina are at 3.71 odds, and a draw is at 3.41 in the 1X2 market.

Other than going for an Atalanta victory, you may also fancy going for bets like Total Goal 2-3 at 1.94, Total Goal 4-6 at 3.06, and Over 3.00 at 2.35, given the collective firepower of these two squads. On the other hand, if you think that Fiorentina will secure a league double over Atalanta, then check out the Correct Score of 3-2 in favour of Fiorentina – the result of their reverse fixture – since it has a staggering payday of 44.00.

 

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