Date: February 8, 2020
Time: 14:00 GMT, 9:00 EST
This Saturday Atalanta gear up to take on a fiery Fiorentina squad, coming off a questionable or convincing loss (whomever you speak to) against Juventus. The importance of this game cannot be understated. This will be the third time the clubs will have faced off this year, and save for a 95th minute equalizer by Timothy Castagne in the second game of the year, Atalanta barely have anything to show in their match-ups against La Viola.
Having eked into 4th place last week following a 2-2 draw against relegation candidate Genoa, Atalanta cannot get complacent by looking ahead to their huge fixtures coming against Roma and Champion’s League foe Valencia. Fiorentina has demonstrated the ability to hang with La Dea, even being a man down in their Coppa Italia campaign last month. A team made for the counter, Atalanta must be ready for this most likely of strategies from La Viola.
The most interesting piece of this match to me is getting Duvan Zapata back on goal scoring form. He’s been contributing in different ways since his return, including two assists last week, but it is absolutely essential for him to renew his tenacity for scoring and becoming a 2nd half monster again, as he was last year. Most likely, Fiorentina will allow Atalanta to have plenty of the ball, so it is essential that Zapata doesn’t turn into a target man simply playing with his back to goal and occupying Fiorentina’s defense. While it can prove a valuable tactic, especially with Ilicic’s goal scoring form, the club cannot continually rely on Ilicic to both score and create from the right side of the pitch. I would love to see a free flowing offensive attack with Zapata moving towards the goal and finishing off a Gomez or Ilicic through ball, like we all know he is capable of doing.
This is a game Atalanta SHOULD be winning, but Fiorentina’s talent should also cause La Dea alarm. They killed Atalanta on the counter in the Coppa Italia, and with the likes of Castrovilli to lead the counter and set up Chiesa and/or Cutrone, it is a dangerous combination that the back three will have to be ready for. Speaking of the back 3, it will be interesting to see Gasperini’s lineup intentions and if he’ll try to work Caldara back into the rotation. After starting against Fiorentina and SPAL in back to back games, he has not seen the field since. As the most noteworthy acquisition this January, it seems logical Gasp will try to work him into the rotation a little more intently, especially considering his knowledge of the system and how he fits into the defense.
The last two Saturday fixtures have been very kind to La Dea, so here’s to hoping they can keep their Saturday luck up and charge into the weekend with a much needed 3 points. As always, Forza Atalanta!
