Our next opponents: Atalanta, the goal-hungry ‘goddess’

Position

The 4-0 victory for Atalanta against Sampdoria at the end of February marked the end of a run of five games without a win in Serie A. The team from Bergamo thereby initially secured fifth place in Italy's top flight after having been third at the end of December last year just three points behind league leaders Inter Milan. The gap to the current top team AC Milan is now 13 points. Atalanta lost 1-0 away to AS Roma last weekend and again had to swap positions in the table with José Mourinho's team. Atalanta are now sixth but still in touch with the Champions League spots.

After finishing third in 2020/21, they started in the Champions League in Group F along with Villarreal, Young Boys Bern, the former club of Bayer 04 head coach Gerardo Seoane, and Manchester United. They missed out on qualification for the Round of 16 on the final matchday in the group with a 3-2 home defeat against Villarreal. In the play-offs for the Europa League, Atalanta went through comfortably against Olympiakos with 2-1 and 3-0 wins in the two legs.

Personnel

Coach Gian Piero Gasperini usually favours a back three most recently made up of Merih Demiral, Berat Djimsiti and captain Rafael Tolói. But the regular starters also includes the Argentinian José Luis Palomino. The wing backs in a 3-4-2-1 system are usually Davide Zappacosta, Hans Hateboer or the Dae Joakim Maehle. Robin Gosens is no longer playing for ‘La Dea’ (the goddess), The 13-time Germany international moved on loan to Inter Milan in the winter transfer window. In the holding midfield role, Gasperini plays – often alternately – the two Dutch players Marten de Roon and Teun Koopmeiners plus the Switzerland international Remo Freuler and Matteo Pessina, like Tolói, an Italian international with the Squadra Azzurra.

Creativity and a goal threat in attacking midfield comes from the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovskyi (9 goals across all competitions) and the Croat Mario Pasalic (10). The leading goalscorer for the Lombardy club is Duvan Zapata with twelve goals in Serie A and the Champions League. The Colombia international and his fellow countrymen Luis Muriel were the most effective strike partnership at Atalanta last season. Zapata is currently ruled out with a muscle injury and he will miss both games against Bayer 04. Muriel, who scored 22 goals in the 2020/21 season, is not yet back to his top level after long periods on the sidelines due to injury. Up to now, he has only scored four times in 18 appearances in Serie A. The two 30-year-olds Zapata and Muriel are amongst the many experienced players in the team along with their fellow striker Josip Ilicic (34). It's no surprise that Atalanta are one of the oldest teams in Italy with an average age of 27.5.

Performers

Atalanta have finished third in Serie A three times in succession since the 2018/19 season. More remarkable is the fact that the team from Lombardy also scored the most goals of all 20 teams in Italy top-flight. Two years ago, the team under coach Gian Piero Gasperini scored 98 goals in 38 games – an outstanding haul for Serie A. Last term they clocked up 90 goals with more than half being score by three players: Luis Muriel (22), Duvan Zapata (15) and – Robin Gosens (11).

Since Gasperini took over as coach at Atlanta in 2016, the 64-year-old has relied on attacking football. And not just at home at the Gewiss Stadium. Atalanta have been one of the strongest away teams in Serie A over the past three years. 'La Dea' were also leading 2-0 at half-time against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League group stage. The hosts went on to win 3-2 – thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner. The other matches for Atalanta in the Champions League were also tight with plenty of goals. Such as the 3-3 draw at the Wankdorf Stadium away to Young Boys Bern. Luis Muriel scored an impressive goal from a free kick to make it 3-3 after coming on as a substitute on 87 minutes.

Problems

Games like the one in Bern also show that the Gasperini team are also susceptible at the back. Atalanta conceded 13 goals in six matches in the Champions League group stage. By comparison: Bayer 04 let in just five goals in six group matches in the Europa League. There are also selection concerns up front at the moment. Goalscorer Zapata is still injured and Muriel has not rediscovered his previous form. In addition, Josip Ilicic is currently ruled out in the immediate future due to mental problems. The Slovenian has been at Atalanta since 2017 and has scored 60 goals in 172 appearances. As a result of the tight personnel situation in attack, the club signed 25-year-old Jérémie Boga in the winter transfer window. The Ivorian, an international teammate of Bayer 04 defender Odilon Kossounou, has played eight times for Atalanta to date and he scored a goal in the 3-2 quarter-final exit from the Coppa Italia against Fiorentina..

Prediction

Atalanta are currently in a difficult part of the season. The team from Lombardy have only won two out of eight games in Serie A this year (three defeats, three draws) and, in sixth place, they are six points behind fourth-placed Juventus. The Gasperini team were in the same situation three years ago. Back then, Atalanta put a strong run together at the end of the campaign and finished in third place. The team is capable of a similar achievement in spite of the current problems up front because goals not only come from the strikers. This season has seen midfielders like Malinovskyi, Pasalic and Koopmeiners score lots of goals. The Werkself must be prepared for two difficult games.

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