Date: December 6, 2020
Time: 9:00 EST
With a critical match coming up midweek against Ajax, Atalanta cannot afford to look too far ahead against an Udinese team that is finally coming into some form. After 2 straight Serie A victories, Udinese looked prime to take advantage of an Atalanta team that has struggled to fight on two fronts, and simultaneously overcome injury concerns. Right now Gosens (COVID), Miranchuk (COVID), Mojica (injury), Pasalic (injury), Papu (healthy scratch), and Ilicic (healthy scratch) are unavailable for Gasperini who are still looking to scrape by and survive until the group stages are complete.
Similar to Atalanta and Papu, Udinese’s heartbeat is his compatriot Rodrigo de Paul. Neutralizing the Argentine will be of prime importance for Atalanta to come away with a full three points, given Atalanta recent penchant for defensive solidity over their classic offensive attacking style. Grabbing 3 points isn’t essential, but will go a long way for La Dea to get back on track in Serie A in which they haven’t won since the end of October.
Defensively, Atalanta is really starting to develop an identity at the back, especially with the emergence of Cristian Romero. Romero has been immense in his last two Champion’s League matches and has established himself as the linchpin in the La Dea back three. Gasperini opted to sit him last weekend, which he may do again with the importance of the Ajax game, but there are still quite a few options for Gasperini to fill his back three. Sutalo – Palomino – Djimsiti is my preferred line-up to give Toloi and Romero the rest they need to be fully fit against Ajax. Palomino’s ability to play either in the middle or on the left gives Gasperini some flexibility to bring on Cuti or Toloi if things go south. Its a flexible, yet sturdy lineup, and probably solid enough to stop Udinese from spraying shots from all over.
In the midfield against Liverpool, Gasperini opted to go for 3 central players, inserting Matteo Pessina into a further forward role. It was a well played tactical move that allowed Atalanta to control the middle of the pitch, where they were woeful against Liverpool in the first match. I like this strategy as a change of pace, especially against clubs that can dominate and press well in the middle, but it is probably not needed Sunday. Given the lack of midfield depth without Pasalic, sitting one of de Roon, Freuler, or Pessina is necessary to ensure maximum fitness for Wednesday. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Freuler get a rest, and Pessina get the nod in his place. On the wings, Gosen’s positive COVID test is huge. Mojica is injured, leaving only the youngster Ruggeri to cover on the left. He’s quite intelligent for a youngster, doesn’t try to overdo it, but he is also capable of putting in a good cross. Without Papu on the left to assist in possession, his intelligent ball play will be extremely important to unlocking an Udinese defense most likely ready to sit on the counter.
Now in attack, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. Papu and Ilicic are being rested, Zapata and Muriel were dreadful on Tuesday, and Malinovskyi hasn’t played in weeks. Muriel did torch Udinese last year (think we put 5 goals past them), and getting at least either him or Zapata hot again will be crucial to La Dea getting out of their goal scoring funk. Given the lack of punch in attack, we’ve had the fortune of seeing eventual ManU transfer Amad Diallo in the last few games. He was quite electric against the Danes, and even though he missed a sitter to equalize, did very well to find open space and caused havoc with his pace and technical ability. With Malinovskyi probably not ready to go a full 90, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Diallo get the nod up front. It’ll actually be interesting to see how we lineup with only one true playmaker on the roster in semi-fit Malinovskyi, unless Lammers drops a little deeper and provides the killer balls Papu has been accustomed to doing. Would love to see a Lammers – Muriel – Diallo front three, for some directness and pace that we don’t normally get with Zapata and Ilicic on the pitch.
This match will mark the 25% point of the Serie A season, and everything is extremely tight among the top half of the league. Dropping points, while not a killer, will continue to raise question marks on how La Dea get back on the mark in the league. Granted, we went through a similar funk last year on this time, and then went gangbusters around Christmas, which is absolutely possible again with added rest, and more training time (and no more Champion’s League and Int’l games plus travel). Tomorrow is all about grinding it out, finding a way to pull out a result with the squad at our disposal, and proving we can win without our top playmakers. I’m cautiously optimistic given how well we’ve been playing everywhere but the final third, so let’s go do it… Forza La Dea!
