Date: January 17, 2021
Time: 18:00 CET
La Dea are back in action against what seems like perennial escape demotion escape artists in Genoa. Only one point clear of relegation, Genoa look to continue a decent string of form that saw them earn three points and a cleansheet against Bologna, and taking Juventus to extra time midweek in the Coppa Italia. Genoa did give Atalanta plenty to worry about last year, needing the heroics of a Duvan Zapata golazo in injry time to earn three points in their first matchup, and only drawing in their second match of the extended 2019/2020 campaign.
Atalanta do have to worry about their midweek fixture against Udinese before their banger coming up against table leaders Milan, so this becomes a tricky fixture for Gasperini and his side. With three matches coming up in seven days, ideally Sunday would be a match that Gasp would want to give rest and rotation to players who need it. But Genoa are already in survival mode, and every match is a war of attrition for them, and they have it in them to scrape out a draw as they’ve done this year against the likes of Lazio and Milan.
Most likely with the parked bus coming to try and dismantle, possession and distribution will have to come from everywhere. Runners into the box, centerbacks keeping pressure high up the pitch, and doing enough to mix up the shot selection so the club doesn’t have 20+ shots on target with over half of them blocked by an opponent. A little Ilicic magic would come in handy just poking balls up into the air for either Duvan or Gosens to get on the end of (Gosens is due to have one of his high flying efforts come through!) Considering Atalanta have put together a barrage of shots against their last two opponents, I wouldn’t expect anything different on Sunday, let’s just hope that we can capitalize sooner, and not put pressure on ourselves to come good in the second half.
Defensively, as is always the case, Atalanta need to be prudent on the counter. Sutalo got burned midweek against Sottil, but I don’t envision him getting a start, and a standard back three with enough strength to muscle off a Pelligrini or Destro will be paramount to keeping a cleansheet. If it wasn’t for Romero’s world class season, I’d say Djimsiti would have impressed the most out of the defense this year, and has almost perfected what Gasperini asks for a left or right CB in his back three.
Unlike Toloi, his runs are much more measured, and he is cautious in getting forward and prefers the simple pass and recycling possession to Gosens or Freuler. This style still allows him to not be horribly out of position in case of a counter, thus not isolating Romero in the middle and providing cover for Gosens who is probably even further up the pitch than the Zapata or Muriel. I’d like to see this approach a bit more from Toloi, who’s a bit more cavalier in his offensive approach. But at the same time Toloi puts himself in positions to pull off some centerback magic (like his Benevento goal). Perhaps that’s a good balance to have in the back three, with three different levels of attacking prowess. A more metered approach from Toloi could be the difference between sniffing out a counter attacking, and letting a free winger go in on goal. Against Genoa, I’d just be a bit extra cautious on what an unlucky bounce could do to our back three’s positioning.
One final point. What is going on with Fabio Depaoli? Gasperini has now inserted him in as a central midfielder two matches in a row, outside of his more “comfortable position” on the right wing. If Gasperini and the training staff have really seen something in Depaoli to convert him into a double pivot midfielder, that would be huge for our depth – cause he certainly has not adapted or performed on the wing. Being able to rotation de Roon, Freuler, Pessina, Pasalic, and Depaoli across two midfield positions would be enormous, and a savvy way to internally address the weakest point of depth on the team. Genoa could be a good match to see if Depaoli has the chops to hold the midfield, with either de Roon or Freuler at his side to guide him along. If he can show up, it would be a boon to the club to have him feature against clubs fighting at the bottom of the table.
Regardless, it is essential to not look ahead to Milan next week and focus on Genoa and Udinese in the next four days. While Genoa is in a dogfight for survival in Serie A, Atalanta is in a similar dog fight to maintain a top 4 spot in the league. Dropped points become more important now, and doing so at home against Genoa would bring up all the same talking points about Atalanta brain farting and dropping unnecessary points – hopefully they’ve done enough of that this year with the Spezia and Bologna draws. Three points on Sunday, is a great opportunity to get back into the Top 4, let’s capitalize on it! As always, Forza La Dea!
