Date: September 29, 2021
Time: 18:45 CET (early kickoff!)
The first ever Plus500 derby commences on Wednesday with Atalanta welcoming its neighbors to the north, BSC Young Boys from Switzerland. To everyone’s surprise Young Boys is the only team in group F that came away with three points after matchday one, and can capitalize on its good position by potentially playing the underdog again. Atalanta will not be one to take this match lightly, and are in a nice position to take command of the group with a victory over the boys from Bern.
Pot 4 teams can be easy to brush aside as an afterthought, but Atalanta would be foolish to do so with Young Boys. Currently sitting 2nd in the Swiss League, Young Boys ran away with the Swiss Superleague title last year (winning it by over 30 points), and of course put the dagger to Manchester United two weeks ago- pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the young season. And Young Boys has every reason to be taken seriously. Coach David Wagner, like his opposing Mister, loves to play a high octane football with no qualms to sacrifice defense for the sake of offense… This sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
As potent as Young Boys offense could be, a wide open match could play right into the hands of Atalanta and its attack. It may come down to who can win the midfield, and with Christian Fassnacht doubtful for Wednesday – it may give Atalanta the decisive advantage.
Player To Watch- Pefok
Known by many names, Pefok, aka Jordan Siebatcheu, has gotten off to a sterling start with his new club. He’s been quite the prolific scorer with 5 goals in the league, plus one against Manchester United. A big body in the middle of the pitch, Pefok will most likely be Young Boys primary offensive outlet especially with Jean-Pierre Nsame in doubt due to injury. With a lot of expected noise around the box when Young Boys has the ball, keeping a keen eye on Pefok will remain paramount when covering against crosses and killer balls into the box. Merih Demiral will have to step up big time and ensure his awareness is up to snuff against an attack likely to work as many guys into the box as possible.
Projected Atalanta Starting XI
With Palomino doubtful after suffering an injury against Inter, Merih Demiral will have to step up big against Young Boys strong attack. As previously mentioned, Demiral’s marking can suffer a bit when players get behind him, and he’ll have to ensure he keeps the game in front of him. Demiral now becomes Atalanta’s quickest defender, and will need to be ready to pick up the slack in case Djimsiti or Toloi get beat on pace – Zappacosta and Gosens as well.
Offensively, the switch-up putting Malinovskyi on the left and Pessina on the right is worth trying again, and should result in a strong offensive output against a weaker defense than Atalanta faced over the weekend against Inter. This also feels like the perfect match to get Koopmeiners his second start, its just a matter of who he replaces in the pivot. Ever since de Roon’s return Freuler has been the steadier of the two, so the Swiss may be a better partner for the young Dutchman.
Look for Zapata to get the start again, but there should be reinforcements in attack with Luis Muriel healthy again. He probably doesn’t start in his first match back, but can certainly offer the lightning strike in the second half that Atalanta has been missing since his injury.
Other Atalanta Young Boys Pre-Match Tidbits
Wednesday will be the first time Atalanta plays in the Gewiss Stadium for a Champion’s League match. As if the club needed more motivation to earn three points, being able to do so in front of the fans should hopefully add additional fuel to Atalanta’s attack.
Atalanta and Young Boys have never faced off against each other. Given Young Boy’s prowess in the league, it may be more likely in the future to see these clubs again square off in Europe.
Robin Gosens is the only Atalanta player to score more than one non-penalty goal so far this year. This should be a battle cry, more than anything, to get Zapata or Muriel into scintillating form. Let’s make the Colombians hungry!
Davide Zappacosta has been elite this year getting into very dangerous positions, putting in 4.67 crosses per 90 minutes – good enough for 4th in Serie A. If only he could learn to put some touch on some of those crosses!
Gasperini intimated that the Young Boys match is important but not crucial in how the group turns out. Whatever Gasperini says, there is no doubt that Atalanta will go all out to get three points. With a huge opportunity to go top in the group, Atalanta has to take the game to Young Boys, and not let them settle into the game. Manchester United’s grave error may have been taking the foot off the gas after its first goal, giving Young Boys just enough of a window to find its flow, and then fully take advantage of the match after the Manchester red card.
La Dea saw what happens against Villarreal when the intensity drops, its even more crucial to not let this happen against an opponent that should see Atalanta taking full points. But football is a crazy game. Young Boys demonstrated you can never write any team off, and Atalanta has to do its upmost to not let the Bern side just hang around and lurk. Put the game away quick. Let’s go give something the home fans to cheer about, especially on the maiden Champion’s League voyage for Gewiss with spectators! As always, Forza Dea!!!
