Serie A: Buoyant Bianconeri Head to Bergamo

Atalanta vs Juventus

Max Allegri’s Juventus go to the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Sunday to meet Atalanta in a fifth versus fourth clash.

This mouth-watering fixture, Serie A: Atalanta vs Juventus, comes at a good time for the Old Lady as she seems to have awoken from her early season slumber, and a proactive transfer window has given her a timely boost, starting with a 2-0 league victory over Hellas Verona last week. Meanwhile Gian Piero Gasperini’s side come into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Cagliari and the boss will be looking for a reaction, but the hosts are without their main striker, Duvan Zapata.

To add to Juve’s smiles and Atalanta’s woes, on Thursday the Old Lady beat Sassuolo to reach the Coppa Italia fifth round while La Dea was dumped out by Fiorentina. 

But a win for Atalanta would re-ignite their top four hopes and leapfrog them above their visitors, while three points would keep Juventus in touch with the top three. The Atalanta vs Juventus betting odds tell us this is a tight game to call and the outcome could tell us a lot about the way this campaign is going to pan out.

And I think Juventus have their mojo back so it could be a difficult day for La Dea.

Talking Points

Atalanta must face Juve without their main man

Gian Piero Gasperini has almost legendary status in Bergamo the way he has led Atalanta through a period of success, finishing third last season and admired Europe wide for the way they attack. But they will go into this crucial game without their top striker Zapata who has nine goals. The Colombian hit man is a big loss to La Dea and they must fear slipping five points adrift of the Champions League places. With Alexey Miranchuk also out, the goal scoring responsibility falls to Zapata’s countryman Luis Muriel and Mario Pasilic, who has registered eight goals and five assists in this campaign.

At the other end of the pitch Atalanta will be missing goalkeeper Juan Musso following his red card against Cagliari which means Francesco Rossi is set to deputise.

While the hosts are two points behind the Old Lady, they have a game in hand, so a win would put them firmly back in charge of their destination.

Vlahovic arrives in Turin at the perfect time

While La Dea has some worries bubbling away, Juventus seem to be in a better place with an impressive return to form, and the Old Lady made some big moves in the transfer window to set the pulses racing in Turin. Three players went out of the door, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur to Tottenham Hotspur for a combined fee which could rise to £55m, while Aaron Ramsay went off to his retirement home at Rangers in Scotland!

Meanwhile Juventus secured the marquee signing of Fiorentina’s prolific goal scorer Dusan Vlahovic for an initial fee of 70m Euros, and much admired defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria form Borussia Monchengladbach for a reported fee of 5m Euros. Vlahovic looks like he could be Allegri’s masterstroke. The Serbian striker is currently tied for the lead in the Capocannoniere race with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile on 18 goals, and he scored his first in Bianconeri colours on his debut against Hellas Verona. The win took the Old Lady to a ten match unbeaten run, winning seven and drawing three, against Napoli, Venezia and in a blockbuster clash with AC Milan.  

Juve go into the game without the injured forward pair of Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernardeschi; but Vlahovic and Paulo Dybala will be enough for Atalanta to contend with!  

History

With 34 wins to five the Old Lady has totally dominated the head to head Atalanta vs Juventus results but one of the rare Atalanta wins came just over two months ago when a Zapata goal gave them a priceless 1-0 win in Turin.

La Dea is actually going for a third consecutive victory over Juventus, but recent form is not in their favour as Atalanta are without a victory in four while Juventus are now unbeaten in 11.     

Betting Tip

	Atalanta vs Juventus	1X2 Juventus @ 2.50
	February 14, 3:45 (GMT+8)

Atalanta at SBOTOP odds of 2.68 and the draw at 2.96 tell us this is anything but a stroll for the Bianconeri, but Max Allegri’s side come into the game brimming with confidence. The signing of Vlahovic comes at a time when momentum is building at the Allianz Arena and Juventus have the Eye of the Tiger once more.

The loss of Zupata will make this more difficult for the hosts and I am backing the momentum to continue shifting in the direction of Turin.

For a correct score-line, 1-2 is available at odds of 8.44.

 

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