Date: November 28, 2020
Time: 14:45 EST
While Klopp and the Liverpool faithful are busy complaining about their clogged fixture schedule, if they stepped out of their bubble they’d realize every team is going through the exact same thing, including La Dea. With 3 days to rest after the historic win at Anfield, Atalanta are back in action (at home fortunately) against one of the peskiest sides in all of Italy, Hellas Verona. 2nd in all of Serie A in goals allowed (with 7) Verona has barely missed a beat this season after losing arguably three of their most important players in Amrabat, Kumbulla, and our very own Matteo Pessina. Last year Pep Guardiola joking said that playing Atalanta is like going to the dentist. I mentioned last year, going one step further, that playing Verona is like going to the orthodontist. Everything is a struggle, they don’t let you breathe, and they do just enough to squeak out points when the cards are in their favor. I fully expect nothing less than a dog fight.
The main thing I worry about coming into Saturday is the honeymoon effect after defeating Liverpool on Wednesday. Obviously emotions will still be through the roof, and with the Midjtylland leering in the window midweek Atalanta cannot afford to look into midweek, because Verona will give them all they can handle. I’m hoping Spezia was enough of a wakeup call, and now that the international break is firmly in the rear view mirror, I hope a nearly fully fit squad can keep focus for 7 days and not take weekend days off.
Given Gianpiero showed some cheekiness with his Liverpool lineup and tactics, I now wonder what Gasperini will opt to do. He went extremely rogue and didn’t even play a true striker against The Reds (even with three available on the bench!). But with Atalanta goals can literally come from everywhere and anywhere, so it wasn’t an issue, and probably is a lineup they can effectively play going forward if they need more midfield presence. Against Verona I’m not sure Atalanta will have to thrust so many bodies in the midfield to press and dominate possession, and will take a more classic Gasperini aggressive approach. I’d love to see Zapata get back on the scoresheet to make up for his recent bad luck, and with Ilicic finally netting a goal, a classic 3-4-1-2 with Ilicic and Zapata both up front wouldn’t surprise me.
The name of the game through mid December is fending off attrition. With immensely important Champion’s League games plus the pecking order starting to sort itself out in Serie A, Atalanta’s mentality will determine how they get through this brutal stretch. And there is no better barometer for fighting attrition than going up against Hellas. If Atalanta can pull off a victory, it’ll be a mighty feather in the cap going into December, and establishing the right mentality for the December fixtures. As we continue to balance our depth and understand what the best starting formation is, I’m feeling ever more confident we’re really close, and Gasperini will do what he needs to keep the lads fresh and with their eyes on the prize. As always, Forza La Dea!!
