Date: February 6, 2022
Time: 12:30 CET, 6:30 EST
The Serie A calendar kicks off again after a much needed break, with Atalanta welcoming relegation scrappers Cagliari onto the mainland. Atalanta gets the early kickoff for the second time this year, and will most definitely be hoping for a better outcome than its last lunchtime match in which Udinese and Beto drew even in the waning minutes of the match.
Cagliari may be entrenched in a relegation scrap, but the boys from the island certainly did not play like that against Atalanta when the clubs last met. La Dea was able to scrape by with two first half goals, but the quality on the pitch between the two clubs was not large; in fact, some better finishing on Cagliari’s part could have seen them sneak away with points. Nonetheless, Atalanta was able to secure maximum points, and should be poised to do so again this weekend.
There’s a lot of mystery after the international break with how Atalanta can and will lineup. Although it feels like an eternity, it was only two weeks ago that Atalanta was patching a squad together to offset losses from COVID. Is everyone healthy? Only those deep in the club can answer that. But unlike facing off against Inter and Lazio, La Dea should be aiming for victory regardless of who is lining up in black and blue. Gut feel, La Dea’s health should be on the upswing, and hopefully the goals start flying in again.
Cagliari Player to Watch – Matteo Lovato
Atalanta sent a few youngsters out on loan this winter, one of them being the raw Italian U21 International Matteo Lovato. Lovato’s start in Bergamo has been slow and often rocky. As he continues his development it was clearly evident that Lovato could do with consistent match time. Lovato has already worked his way into Walter Mazzari’s side, including a solid outing in his debut that saw Cagliari fend off Bologna. Atalanta will hopefully have the lion’s share of possession, so we’ll have ample opportunities to see how Lovato fares in the back three. As long as he doesn’t have too many goal line saving blocks!
Atalanta Passione Predicted Starting XI
Trying to predict Sunday’s lineup is like playing darts blindfolded, so apologies if this is way off base. The primary assumption here is that any Atalanta players who were out of commission because of COVID will be ready to go. Which essentially gives Gian Piero Gasperini a full squad at his disposal. Only Robin Gosens (now gone), and Duvan Zapata (health to be determined) were the only players suffering from knocks pre-International break.
To get everyone back into the groove Gasperini shouldn’t pull any punches, and he should look to put his strongest team forward. It’s been awhile since Atalantini have been afforded the opportunity to see a playmaking trio work its magic, and its about time to see Ruslan Malinovskyi pulling the strings and setting up Mario Pasalic and Luis Muriel. The greedy side of me would like an immediate Jeremie Boga start, but its doubtful. Off the bench in a pinch, sure! But hopefully we don’t need his pace and electricity to claw one back against Cagliari.
Three Small Keys to Three Big Points
Get Cagliari Chasing Early – Last time out Atalanta took an early lead and looked to be in the driver’s seat, until a skillful, perhaps lucky, Diego Godin to Joao Pedro connection brought Cagliari even. After Cagliari’s equalizer, proceedings were tense for Atalanta who were fortunate to snag a go-ahead goal on the stroke of halftime. It would be preferable not to monkey around this time, and give Cagliari no light to squeak back into the match and then proceed to pack its own box like its a bomb shelter.
Pick on Cagliari’s Back Three – As much as we want Lovato to succeed, it is not a surprise that Atalanta will still look to exploit the rawness and inexperience of Mazzari’s defense. Edoardo Goldaninga is the elder statesman of the group, but then Giorgio Altare (23), Lovato (21), and Adam Obert (19) are all young enough to be error prone and overly aggressive. Without Diego Godin to corral his troops, there should be opportunities for Muriel to spin a few defenders at his will.
Make Someone Not Name Joao Pedro Beat You – Joao Pedro is a quality player, one of the few in Cagliari’s current setup. Merih Demiral and Rafael Toloi should be all over him like white on rice to force someone else on Cagliari beat La Dea on the counter. If that’s Leonardo Pavoletti, Nahitan Nandez, or someone else – so be it, force Cagliari to be clinical.
Proceedings do not get easier in February. Atalanta has seven games on the docket in this shortened month, spanning across three competitions. Hopefully La Dea’s health problems are behind them, and the boys can focus on results, holding firm in the Serie A table, and beating opponents it should handle in their knockout competitions. But it all starts with taking it one game at a time and not slipping up in the most inopportune moments. Genoa nil-nil still has a pungent odor that didn’t dissipate with the turn of the New Year – so we all know what can happen when not everything is clicking for the offense. Heck since Atalanta had to go full-on park the bus mode itself against Lazio, perhaps the boys picked up a thing or two on how to beat a bus that they so exquisitely were able to set up. For now, I just want to see goals, and hopefully lot’s of them. As always, Forza Dea!!!
