Date: February 6, 2021
Time: 15:00 CET
After a drab nil nil draw midweek against Napoli, Atalanta look to get back into positive goal scoring form against relegation contenders Torino. Square with Cagliari – La Dea’s next opponent coincidentally in Serie A – on points, Torino are firmly in a dogfight to squeeze out points in anyway they can see fit. Having battled to three consecutive draws in the league, I envision Torino to follow a similar trend to the Campania boys – hence sit back in their bus, and potentially hit on a sneaky counter with Bergamo’s own Andrea Belotti. Atalanta have had next to no luck against the bus this year, and Saturday will be a new day to see if Gasperini has any new tricks up his sleeve to change his fortunes against his club’s kryptonite this year.
The bus has become frustrating to unlock at this point. Now after Napoli’s recent defensive setup, Atalanta has struggled against Sampdoria, Genoa, Udinese, and Napoli – scoring only two goals against the these four defensive matchups combined. While I don’t anticipate a start for Mario Pasalic, having him back is beneficial for La Dea given his penchant for making key and timely runs into the box. More offensively focused than Pessina, it remains to be determined if he can mesh with Ilicic in the central attacking midfield role, but I do remain cautiously optimistic that he can show his value being more advanced. As long as he doesn’t have to play back in the pivot, where his mistakes are more visible! Kovalenko may also be a good shout to come on, as he loves making runs into the box and finishes well on bouncy 50-50 balls.
There are a lot of doubts right now about the right flank, and who will fill in this weekend. Atalanta have been quite fortunate from an injury standpoint this year, but we’re now facing our first true test of depth on the right wing. Hans Hateboer remains injured and most likely unfit, and there are differing accounts on who will be able to fill his shoes as this weekend’s starter. Obvious first choice Joakim Maehle may be unavailable to a knock picked up against Napoli, but he is shown as fit on transfermarkt…. Squad list confirmed Sutalo in the lineup and Maehle out…. Oppositely the other potential option, Bosko Sutalo, is shown as injured on transfermarkt but no other sources are suggesting he is injured. Worst case scenario is both of them are injured, which would potentially have Toloi, de Roon, or Freuler having to fill in for an extreme emergency! Given the weak-linked nature of football, I’m hoping Maehle is fit, and by the time of this posting we’ll have a clearer picture.
Were reaching the point of the season that there really are no excuses to be made for failing to secure points against teams that should easily be handled. Saturday is no exception.
Atalanta must figure out how to be a tightly compacted defense, as they will continually see it moving forward. I’m eager to see if Gasperini has any tricks up his sleeve on how to beat it – toe pokes from Toloi are not it! Regardless, be prepared for a dogfight tomorrow, Udinese style shithousery wouldn’t surprise me… So let’s hope the boys are ready to break down their defenses! As always, Forza Atalanta!
