Date: February 21, 2021
Time: 18:00 CET
For the third and final time this month Atalanta and Napoli square off in a match with enormous implications for Champion’s League jockeying. At this point revenge for Napoli’s dismantling of La Dea early in the calendar is out of the question – considering the familiarity the clubs have with each other after the Coppa – rather if anything Napoli will really be the ones looking to right the wrongs of their lackluster showing in the Coppa earlier this month. More than anything, the major challenge for the boys from Campania will be fielding a healthy squad. Off the top of my head; Lozano, Petagna, Manolas, Mertens, Demme, and Ospina are expected to be absent with injury – and coming off a rough defeat at the hands of Grenada in the Europa league, Gattuso and company will have to not only overcome an unfit squad but also overcome a bit of fatigue that is inevitable given their calendar.
A sane neutral would ascertain that this match is shaping up quite nicely for La Dea. Having a week off for the first time in who knows how long -and being nearly 100% fit save for Hateboer, should be enough fuel for Atalanta to dictate tempo. But with Napoli, you can never underestimate what they have up their sleeve. With Gattuso consistently on the hot seat, the players always seem to rise to the occasion when their back is against the wall – just look at Juve last week – and they still have enough quality and depth to give clubs fits. Given the circumstances, dropping points would be a disappointment on Sunday, but not out of the realm of possibility.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager Napoli sitting deep similar to the first leg of the Coppa Italia match. Last time it was the same old story of Atalanta not being able to beat the bus, and given Napoli’s second string defense being called upon this weekend, I don’t envision Gattuso trying to isolate Rrahmani and Maksimovic. It worked one time for Napoli, so who’s to say it wouldn’t work again. Atalanta wasn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut last time out against Cagliari, and if Ilicic can be neutralized and Muriel ran out of tricks, who knows.
Speaking of Ilicic, Cagliari’s gameplan against him was quite effective with Daniele Rugani dogging him and barely giving him any space to operate. It worked well, and Rugani’s aggressive defense around the Slovenian was effective. However, can that really work for Napoli? The whole Cagliari game plan was around pressing, and I don’t necessarily envision Napoli being able to press over the entire pitch, with Insigne and Politano up front. Therefore – to me – it’ll become the Josip Ilicic show. It’s time for him to dictate an offensive attack again, and potentialy being without Koulibaly he can be very effective – just like he was in the final minutes in the Coppa. Especially if Maehle comes back to provide him support on the left, he may have the trust he needs in his wing companion to go and pull off the slickest of tricks we know he has in his arsenal. We’ll need him!
Overall this is a necessary three points. On paper with both teams 100% fit, one could argue Napoli has the advantage, but there are just too many things not going Napoli’s way right now – which has dug them in quite a deep hole right now. Injuries, traveling back from Spain, a poor loss against Grenada, and constant media speculation about Gattuso is a lot to have in your mind playing on the road against a club that just knocked you out of the Coppa Italia. As long as Atalanta come out playing their game, and don’t get completely bullied like their first meeting, I feel pretty good about picking up a result. But never never count out Gattuso, so let’s make sure to fight tooth and nail and carry the momentum forward we need to put on a good display midweek against the giants from Madrid! As always, Forza La Dea!
