Date: January 9, 2022
Time: 16:30 CET, 10:30 EST
As it stands, amid the havoc being caused by Omicron, Atalanta looks destined to play in Udine this weekend. Despite a resurgence of COVID cases throughout Serie A (including both Atalanta and Udinese), Atalanta should be kicking off its second half of the season against a pesky Udinese side. Now Udinese has been one of the clubs hit the hardest with COVID since the New Year, still making it not unreasonable to think that Sunday’s match gets postponed. Reports have suggested that Atalanta’s fixture may be moved to Monday to accommodate those with COVID; however, if the option of delaying the match by one day to better serve those with COVID is one the docket – it suggests that the match can still be postponed in a minute’s notice.
Regardless, Atalantini everywhere can at least get their hopes up to witness football this weekend, and finally remove the bitter taste that has been lodged in everyone’s mouth after the drab nil-nil draw three weeks ago in Genoa. Udinese never make proceedings easy for Atalanta, and even if Le Zebre have suffered from a problematic quantity of COVID cases – the squad still has the talent and energy to cause a lot of problems for the good guys. The combination of Beto and Gerard Deulofeu up front is the most attacking prowess Udinese has probably had since either Zapata or Muriel donned Udinese shirts. And a stingy back three of Nuytick, Samir, and Becao has become a difficult low block to break down. Now its uncertain who from Udinese will be absent due to COVID; even so, Udinese’s squad depth is solid – making Le Zebre a formidable opponent despite its player absences.
Udinese Player to Watch – Gerard Deulofeu
When Rodrigo DePaul departed to Atletico Madrid at the beginning of the year, the consensus among the Serie A landscape was that Udinese would be a dark horse club to fight off relegation. DePaul meant so much to Udinese’s attack last year, it felt right to question where offensive output would come from a team that just lost the heartbeat of its offense. Enter Gerard Deulofeu. In his second year with Udinese, he quietly taken over playmaking duties and been a spark plug for an Udinese offense in desperate need of a creative player. The former Barcelona youth prospect has a respectable six goals on the year (to along with two assists), yet perhaps more important is his ability to ease pressure off of an often-overworked Udinese defense.
In the past calendar year, he has put up elite dribbling numbers, including averaging 9 progressive carries per 90 minutes – numbers outdone by only a handful of players across Europe. Atalanta had the fortune of not facing Deulofeu last time out in Bergamo, but will now have to come up with an answer for the lively Spaniard who is capable of causing problems for Atalanta on both flanks.
Atalanta Passione’s Predicted Starting XI
As it stands Juan Musso and Jose Luis Palomino are still absent due to positive COVID tests, and La Dea will still be without Duvan Zapata and Robin Gosens for a few more matches. These absences in the defense leave very few question marks as to who will lineup, forcing skipper Gian Piero Gasperini to ponder how Atalanta will deconstruct an Udinese parked bus.
In Zapata’s absence Luis Muriel becomes the pulse of an offense that has been stagnant and low key devoid of creativity recently. Perhaps missing out on Zapata is a blessing in disguise as it forces Atalanta to work offense through its normal channels, rather that blasting the ball up the pitch to the large Colombian target man. Nonetheless a lot of pressure will be on Muriel to put together one of his better offensive outputs. With shaky finishing and a step behind the flow of the match this year, Muriel is the key to unlocking an Udinese defense that was comfortable in clogging the middle of the pitch last time out against Zapata. Muriel’s trickery and pace can hopefully pull Bram Nuytick and his back-three partners out of their eighteen-yard box comfort zone.
If you’re a regular listener to the AtalantaPOD you will know that both of your gracious hosts are keen to see Teun Koopmeiners receive as many starts as possible against a low block. With the uncertainty around Remo Freuler’s suspension (did the postponed Torino match count as a match?), there should be no question that Koopmeiners will get the opportunity to create from the midfield and leave Marten de Roon to chase Deulofeu all over the pitch.
Flanking the midfield duo, Joakim Maehle looks to have evaded a serious foot injury. His presence should reshuffle the wingback formation to the lively duo of Davide Zappacosta on the right, and the aforementioned Maehle on the left. Even if Hans Hateboer’s birthday was on Saturday, it is still not enough to justify him starting until he has proven he is back up to match fitness and speed (which he is definitely not yet).
Other Notes and Team News
In addition to Jose Luis Palomino and Juan Musso, there is an another Atalantino that has been rumored to have tested positive for COVID. Its anyone’s guess who it may be, and Atalanta has yet to release a lineup card that could glean some insight into the absence. Positive COVID cases plaguing teams looks to be the new norm for the rest of the campaign in 2022, which fortunately….
It becomes a blessing that Atalanta has legitimate depth to overcome serious hits to the lineup. Atalanta will be without five players against Udinese, and while its unfortunate, the drop in quality does not sting nearly as much as it would a team with less depth (Napoli and Roma stand out in this regard).
Regarding the missed Torino match last Thursday, rumors are stirring that Atalanta will make up this fixture on January 19th. If this is true, it sets ups a brutal run of matches for Atalanta who would have to face Inter, Torino, and Lazio in consecutive matches in a week. The previously mentioned depth could be put to the test in the most grueling of manners.
I wrote this preview as if this match would go on without any questions. The question that still looms large is will la Dea even play on Sunday? The club has at best been cryptic in making this any easier to determine. The previously mentioned lack of a squad sheet is not normal, but Atalanta’s Twitter page proudly showed the team bus in Udine. It looks that there is every intention to play this match; but, I’ll believe it when I see both teams on the pitch Sunday afternoon. For now, let’s hope everyone gets healthy, and keep our fingers crossed that we finally get to witness some Atalanta football in the New Year! It’s time to put the drab end to 2021 behind us, and start off the new year with a roar. And as always, Forza Dea!!!
