In last week’s Atalanta Club Focus, I think it’s fair to say I was fairly dismissive of the idea that Atalanta could get a result as they made they trip to Rome to face Lazio, well I’m relieved to say that I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about as the mighty Orobici snook a 1-0 victory in the Olimpico – claiming only their second away victory of the season.
While watching the first half of the game I feared the worst for the first 20/25 minutes, with the Biancocelesti completely dominating the game and with the game shaping up to be a very long one for Stefano Colantuono. After a while, fortunately enough, Atalanta began to grow into the game and carved out a couple of chances of their own and could argue that they should have gone ahead on more than once occasion in the first period.
Midway through the second half came a five minute period that changed the game completely. The little Argentine Maximiliano Moralez gave the Orobici the lead on the hour mark and within moments of that happening Antonio Candreva got himself sent off. So, in the blink of an eye the team with the second worst away record in Serie A were a goal and a man up in the capital.
There were to be no more goals in the game and Atalanta celebrated taking their away tally to a whopping eight points from the 14 games they’ve played on the road.
Next up, Atalanta return to more familiar surroundings – the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia – where the Nerazzurri’s record has been nothing short of superb. With the two sides being inseparable in the points column of the Serie A table, this game is going to be quite an interesting contest to watch unfold. To prepare for the game, I have prepared a few pre-game statistics that I found.
- Worryingly for Atalanta, they have only managed to beat Sampdoria once in the last six Serie A meetings between the sides.
- On a positive not, Sampdoria have only managed to win once in their last six visits to Bergamo. Given Atalanta’s outstanding home form this season there is little reason to suggest that this winless spell in Bergamo will be coming to an end this season.
- Atalanta are currently going through a bit of a purple patch, having not lost in three games in the league. This is their longest unbeaten streak since October.
- In their last five games at home, the Orobici have lost only one (4-0 vs Parma,) winning the other four.
One statistic that really jumped out at me during the week building up to this game is that Germán Denis hasn’t scored in his last five games. As Atalanta’s main goal threat that isn’t really good enough and he will no doubt expect more from himself. Five games without a goal is his longest dry spell this season. If you fancy putting a bet on this game I reckon it might be worth having a flutter on Il Tanque to end his goal drought.
Not that my predictions mean much after last week but I fully expect Atalanta to continue their impressive form and beat Sampdoria this weekend. Should they claim all three points this weekend they could climb into the top half of the table which would be a tremendous achievement for the boys from Bergamo.
Until next week, FORZA ATALANTA!
Follow Conor Clancy on Twitter: @concalcio
