Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia on Sunday.
Atalanta will be hoping to push on from their 11th place finish, which was their highest since returning to Serie A in 2011. Verona on the other side are hoping their second season back will be as successful as their first, when surprised many by finishing in tenth.
La Dea will be hoping to exact some revenge against the visitors, who both league matches by identical 2-1 score lines. In their first meeting, Atalanta stuck first, through German Denis, but the Gialloblu scored twice after the 80th minute through Juan Gomez and Jorginho to collect all the points.
The reverse fixture in Bergamo saw the visitors get two goals through Massimo Donati and Luca Toni, before Denis got a late consolation goal. Prior to last season, the sides last met in the 2005-2006 season in Serie B, with the Nerazzurri winning both those matches on their way to winning the league and earning promotion.
Atalanta come open the league in fine form, winning five of their six friendlies. They also opened up the Coppa Italia last weekend with a 2-0 victory over Pisa, getting goals from midfielders Luca Cigarini and Leonardo Spinazzola.
Hellas Verona on the other hand have only played one match so far, a 3-0 victory in the Coppa Italia over Cremonese, with all of the goals being scored in the second half by Luca Toni, Vagelis Moras, and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.
Formations will be an early talking point for these two clubs and how they will progress this season. Atalanta last season primarily used a 4-4-1-1 with German Denis in the sole striker role, but for their Coppa Italia relied on a 4-4-2, pushing Maxi Moralez further upfield. La Dea will also be hoping for more width, having brought in 23 year old Marco D’Alessandro from Roma in the offseason.
Last season Verona tended to play a 4-3-3 formation, especially in league play, with wing play crucial to feeding the ball to Luca Toni, who scored 20 in Serie A last season.
In their Coppa Italia match, the Gialloblu played a similar formation, although some viewed it more as a 4-1-4-1. The club also brought in reinforcements, signing Mexican international defender Rafa Marquez to marshal a back line that conceded 68 goals last season, third most in the league.
Expected Starting XIs
Atalanta – Consigli- Drame, Benalouane, Cherubin, Zappacosta- D’Alessandro, Cigarini, Boakye, Estigarribia- Denis, Moralez
Hellas Verona – Rafael- Luna, Marquez, Moras, Martic- Obbadi, Hallfredsson, Christodoulopoulos- Valoti, Toni, Gomez
