Date: October 17, 2020
Time: 9:00 EST
International breaks I imagine are what purgatory feels like, just waiting and waiting and waiting. But now, we’re back with a doozy on our hands! Napoli so early in the year with Scudetto implications on the line, what a way to come back to football! While Napoli haven’t played in three weeks, and have had some incredibly unfortunate bad luck losing a point for not traveling to Turin to play Juventus, there’s still plenty to be weary about against the boys from Campania. Before Napoli and Juventus got postponed with the game’s outcome probably still in limbo, Napoli had looked very strong. With a thrashing of Genoa, and a convincing victory over Parma the Partenopei already have a plus 8 goal differential and 2 clean sheets to their name. Given their opponents weren’t among the “heavyweights” of Serie A, victories were expected; however, give props where props are due. Napoli has found an identity under Gattuso, and wonderkid offseason signing Victor Osimhen is becoming the man in the middle Napoli always wished Milik could have been.
So enough gushing about Napoli. They’re a good team, they get to play at home, but Atalanta still has a lot going in their favor. For starter’s we’re joint leaders in Serie A right now, with 13 goals in three matches! The team was on fire before the international break, and nearly everyone was getting on the scoring sheet. The best thing about Atalanta is you still don’t know where the goals are coming from, and its imperative to mark every man. While a majority of La Dea’s squad is seeing international match minutes this week, it should hopefully help to stave off the rust, especially against a Napoli squad that has been stuck in Italy with only scrimmage time to keep them busy. My only concern is the overseas travel for Duvan, Muriel, Mojica, and Papu who have to get over jet-lag coming back from South America, but that’s pure nitpicking. Overall I’m happy the boys get to keep building up their match fitness, and aren’t sitting idly for two weeks.
What I’m most excited about is the potential debut of Russian international Aleksey Miranchuk. He hasn’t been able to play since is transfer to La Dea due to injury, but there was always the hope that he’d be back after the first international break. If Miranchuk is indeed fully fit, Gasperini may give the Russian his first taste of game action. Gasperini this year has already shown trust to bring meld in new transfers into the XI quickly, and Miranchuk and his offensive wizardry should be no different. Provided he’s fit. I won’t believe he’s in the squad until the lineup is announced, but I can’t wait to see what baby-Ilicic can do in blue and black.
Frankly more than anything, I’m pumped for football to come back. Unable to watch the South American qualifiers (stupid pay-per-view), and the Nation’s League being incredibly boring, I’ve missed my football fix. And there’s nothing to whet that appetite more than a match that already has Scudetto implications written all over it. Win (hopefully), lose (I hope not), or draw (I’ll take it on the road), I just want more of Atalanta’s thrilling brand of football and to see what Gasperini has in store for against a Top-4 foe. As always, Forza La Dea!
