High-flying Atalanta aim to leapfrog Inter into third place in Serie A with a win over Sampdoria in Bergamo on Wednesday night (kick-off 21:45).
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Gollini; Toloi, Caldara, Dijmsiti; Castagne, Pasalic, Freuler, Gosens; Malinovskyi, Gomez; Zapata.
Suspended: Palomino.
Sampdoria (4-5-1): Audero; Bereszynski, Yoshida, Colley, Murru; Thorsby, Bertolacci, Ekdal, Linetty, Jankto; La Gumina.
Unavailable: Tonelli, Vieira.
KEY STATISTICS
– Atalanta have scored just six goals against Sampdoria since 2016/17, only against Cagliari they have scored fewer goals (four) amongst the teams that have consistently been in the top flight in this timeframe.
– Atalanta have won one and drawn one in their last two games against Sampdoria – last time they remained unbeaten against them for three games in a row was in 2006.
– The last six meetings between Atalanta and Sampdoria in Bergamo have seen three wins apiece.
– Overall, Atalanta have won 20 times at home against Sampdoria in Serie A, losing 10 times and sharing 17 draws.
– Sampdoria won their last away game (v Lecce) – last time they won back-to-back away games in Serie A was in March 2019.
– Atalanta have scored 100 goals in 39 games this season in all competitions (2.56 per game) – only Bayern Munich (2.98) and PSG (2.95) have averaged more goals per game in Europe’s top five leagues.
– Twenty-nine of Sampdoria’s 32 points in Serie A this season have come since the arrival of Claudio Ranieri – taking into account only the 23 rounds since Ranieri’s appointment, Sampdoria would sit 12th in the table, 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
– Claudio Ranieri has faced Atalanta 14 times as a coach without losing (W7 D7) in the three-point era in Serie A.
– Atalanta’s strikers Luis Muriel and Duván Zapata have history with Sampdoria; Muriel scored 21 goals in 79 games for the Blucerchiati, while Zapata scored 11 in 31.
– Sampdoria striker Manolo Gabbiadini scored just one goal in his 25 league appearances for Atalanta in 2011/12.
