Date: February 10, 2022
Time: 18:00 CET, 12:00 EST
Short memory everyone! Atalanta hopefully gets to put its weekend woes aside and look for redemption against a Fiorentina side that is sharing in Atalanta’s recent misery. Atalanta lose Duvan for the year, and Fiorentina have lost Dusan to Juventus. Fiorentina probably takes the cake for the current most miserable club in Italy, but both teams still can see some light at the end of the tunnel with a chance to make the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. Fiorentina was the last team to knock Atalanta out of the Coppa (excluding finals), and Vincenzo Italiano’s squad again got the better of La Dea back in the autumn- besting Atalanta with a penalty brace from Mr. Vlahovic.
Things have changed quite a bit since that September match, and both teams are looking to latch onto a glimmer of hope amid the cloudier skies that February brought with it. In Atalanta’s case, Zapata’s season ending injury combined with Robin Gosens’s departure has left La Dea without two of its best goal scorers for the rest of the season. But with these absences comes opportunity. Atalanta did well to bring in fiery and speedy wingers to bolster the offense. Both Jeremie Boga and Valentin Mihaila showed enough against Cagliari to deserve quicker insertion into the rotation. Against Fiorentina in a cup match may be the perfect opportunity to utilize the newcomers. And if it helps an Atalanta squad score more than once in its last 270 minutes, I’m all for it.
But Fiorentina are still a tricky club. Even without Vlahovic, La Viola can give defenses problems, and force Atalanta to be on point at the back and the front. Thursday’s contest will be a good litmus test to see how the defense responds after its frailties against Cagliari, and to see how the team is prepped for its thrilling weekend matchup against Juventus.
Fiorentina Player to Watch- Arthur Cabral
The young Brazilian has huge shoes to fill. Fiorentina’s new signing from FC Basel doesn’t have much resistance to become the new man leading the line for La Viola. Krzystztof Piatek is the only body standing in the way of Arthur Cabral becoming the new starter for Italiano, and the job is probably the Brazilian’s to lose. There’s not much known about Cabral, at least from the standpoint of how he can handle a bigger league. Nonetheless, the youngster is strong, quick, and can finish well with both feet. His adjustment to the league will be interesting to follow, but that doesn’t help us predict the present. Realistically, Atalanta can look to hassle Cabral and make his life difficult in the buildup. If a leaky Lazio defense can hold him to 20 touches and eight attempted passes, Atalanta can look to be aggressive with him, and probably succeed. But with the current Atalanta mantra being: the defense can make the mediocre look marvelous; don’t lose sight of him, because he will finish his clear cut chances!
Atalanta Passione Predicted Starting XI
Rafael Toloi and Duvan Zapata are the biggest absences for La Dea, with the former a surprise to this writer. There is a route to Giorgio Scalvini getting a start, but given the quality of the opponent this time over the last round, when the Primavera stalwart got to start against Venezia, Gian Piero Gasperini would probably opt with Marten de Roon at the back in a pinch. Nonetheless, Berat Djimsiti deserves another start to get back on track after his poor match on Sunday as Gasperini sacks the back four experiment (at least until some tinkering can be done with it).
Up front the Pasalic-Pessina-Malinovskyi pairing did not inspire confidence in anyone – so this time, why not a nice metronome | lightning combo. The Ukrainian being the metronome that puts the defense on its heels, and Boga the lightning that springs to life before everyone has woken up to the newfound danger. The Zapata, Miranchuk, Ilicic, and Piccoli absences already have Atalanta thin up front (even with two new signings), so Gasperini doesn’t have too many options besides throwing Boga and Mihaila into the fray and see how they handle the system. No problem with that, it would just be better to ease them into the rotation rather than a baptism by fire.
Three Minor Keys to Three Big Points
Keep a Safety Valve at the Back- Fiorentina may not have a burner like Roaul Bellanova to outsprint the field on Thursday, but that doesn’t mean Atalanta shouldn’t mind the counterattack. If the entire squad is forward after a corner kick, the likes of Nico Gonzalez and Jonathan Ikone can still cause a lot of damage on the counter. If Demiral is forward for set pieces, Hateboer or Freuler or someone has to be deeper back just to provide pressure on the outlet.
Get Luis Muriel out of the Middle- Like it or not, Luis Muriel is Atalanta’s starting striker for the foreseeable future. His quality is nearly unmatched when he is on his game, but playing him in the middle of the pitch and not letting him create is not the way to get him inspired. Let him zigzag around the pitch, create how he wants, and get him into a rhythm. Atalanta will need to be in peak form for the next few months. Cultivate the desire and motivation now.
Mark a Man in the Box- Cagliari’s first goal on Sunday still feels inexcusable. There’s endless bodies inside the box; yet, the ball some still lands to a wide open Cagliari player. Juan Musso didn’t stand a chance against that shot, and Atalanta has to make his life easier so the club doesn’t have to rely on his reactions to keep the score down. Playing a back three should help with man marking duties, but when its a free for all in the box, just ensure that everyone knows their marking duties.
Atalanta land is a strange place right now. Besides losing to Cagliari and losing Duvan – rumors are swirling of a potential Diego Costa signing out of necessity. On one hand who would have ever thought that someone of Costa’s fame (notorious or otherwise) would be suiting up in Atalanta blue? But on the other hand, its puzzling that Atalanta is so hamstrung that it may have to rely on the services of a free agent. A good offensive performance on Thursday will help to dispel the weird stench in the air, and even reaffirm that Atalanta’s attacking options may be fine. I’m not positive Atalanta even needs another striker right now, but it will be a lot easier to say that confidently if Muriel puts in a stormer and the Boga of yesteryear learns to begin embarrassing opponents again. Thursday will be interesting for many reasons. For starters, let’s start with a good offensive performance and go from their! As always, Forza Dea!!!
