It’s very hard for me to annunciate the quantity of heart burn playing Hellas Verona causes. A constant thorn in the side of nearly every opponent Verona matches up against, Juric’s squad has continued to punch above its weight and become a consistent above average squad in Serie A. A mini Atalanta – not in the style of play – Verona is a club that bucks the trend of spend equaling points. Right now they’re just a level below our Dea, but Gasperini’s disciple has a pretty good thing going at Verona; and if he’s given a chance to establish a project who knows what he might do in Fair Verona. That doesn’t make Atalanta’s life any easier unfortunately. An absolutely brutal opponent to play since they won relegation last year, La Dea need to make right on the shutout handed to them by Silvestri last time out. The boys will have to do it without Gosens unfortunately, so hopefully Ruggeri is up to the task.
Missing Gosens stings, and Atalanta’s worst fear comes imagined with both him and Hateboer absent. Wingback depth and a lack of good signings has always been the Achilles heel of the this year’s squad. While Maehle has been excellent as a reinforcement, there still isn’t enough coverage when two starters are injured. Unfortunately the failures of Mojica, Piccini, and Depaoli are forcing a youth movement quicker than Gasperini may have wanted, and Ruggeri will have to grow up quickly. To Ruggeri’s credit he has flashed this year. He played well against Inter, but looked overrun against Torino – with Singo outpacing him the whole first half. Capable of being useful offensively, the biggest fear is him getting caught out of position on a counter attack where he may struggle to catch up and contribute in the defense. Djimsiti will have to be extra vigilant, as will Freuler – who will fortunately be better rested than his teammates after missing out on midweek football. I reckon the match to be won, lost, or drawn here – so hopefully this unit can work harmoniously together.
Offensively, Atalanta looked “decent” against Madrid and had a few attacks unfortunately just fall short. In addition, last match out against Verona Silvestri decided to put on an otherworldly display in what otherwise was a pretty good offensive performance. I was impressed with some of things Malinovskyi did midweek, and inserting him more centrally could help to open up some positions for Zapata or Muriel for clear shots on target. Additionally, I think Ilicic could be due for a rest. The club’s elder statesman has looked slightly off recently, and given that he won’t get rest – most likely – during the international break, letting him freshen up for the post break push could be wise. A fresh Ilicic will be essential for a Top 4 finish, and Malinovskyi has displayed enough chops to put in a solid – or perhaps magical – shift in his place.
Roma and Napoli have a huge matchup against each other on Sunday, and Lazio also has a tricky away fixture against Udinese. Three points would help put healthy distance between La Dea and her chasers for the top 4. That’s still assuming Atalanta can string enough good football together to get by an extremely difficult Verona squad.
Once Pep Guardiola likened playing Atalanta like going to dentist… While that may be fair, I’ve always assumed playing against Verona always feels like going to the orthodontist. And not the good appointment where the braces come off, but rather the dreadful appointment for a tightening – or even better installing new braces with rubber bands (you can tell I’ve got good memories to look back on!). But to get good teeth you gotta push through, and Atalanta better have their chompers ready to bite through one of the tougest tests on the calendar come Sunday. Verona is the ultimate test of mental endurance, so if Gasperini’s squad can stay disciplined and vigilant you gotta like the chances! Forza Dea!!!
