While Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were busy facing Olympiacos in midweek, they had a week to reflect on their 2-0 win over Empoli.
The less said about Atalanta’s recent domestic fortunes, the better, but Gasperini’s side returned to their goalless scoring taste to sink Olympiacos 5-1 on aggregate in Europa League qualifying and keep their hopes of continental glory alive.
In the absence of Colombian rivals Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel, Ukraine’s Ruslan Malinovskyi scored two of his team’s goals in a 3-0 win in the second leg before revealing a message of solidarity to his country caught up in the ordeal. with his two quick shots after Joakim Maehle opened the scoring.
The Dea faithful sure were desperate for such a convincing showing amid their side’s downward spiral in Serie A, with the absence of key figures through injury seeing Atalanta go winless in five Serie A games and crash out of the Coppa Italia to Fiorentina.
Having taken just three points from the last 15 on offer domestically – most recently going down again to Fiorentina 1-0 in top-flight action – Gasperini’s side find themselves outside the Champions League spots in fifth but just six points adrift of Juventus, who have played two games more.
In addition, Europa League contenders can boast a paltry total of 3 league wins in thirteen attempts at the Gewiss Stadium this season and have failed to win in 4 top-flight home games, so Sampdoria may feel an opportunity to change the odds. .
The era of perennial veteran Fabio Quagliarella scoring double-digit goals in Serie A would possibly be him, but the 39-year-old showed he still has the golden touch to propel Sampdoria to victory over Empoli last Saturday.
Quagliarella scored twice before the 30th minute to put Marco Giampaolo’s side ahead of the break, and the striker watched the final 30 minutes of play from the bench as Sampdoria picked up their second win in the space of three games.
Serving Sassuolo a slice of humble pie with a 4-0 romping and only going down 1-0 to AC Milan at San Siro has marked a rather significant upturn in fortunes for this Sampdoria side under Giampaolo, whose team occupy 15th spot in the table heading into this game but are by no means clear of danger – sitting four points clear of the dotted line.
The new coach’s recovery appears to be in full swing for I Blucerchiati, and reversing a poor run of fortune away from home is Giampaolo’s next task, as Sampdoria have suffered three consecutive 1-0 defeats in Serie A away from home and will want Quagliarella to challenge his age once again if he is to have a chance at the Gewiss Stadium.
Sampdoria do have fond memories of their most recent trip to Atalanta’s turf – marching to a 3-1 win in October 2020 – but Gasperini’s side responded with victory by the same scoreline at Luigi Ferraris 12 months later.
As if Atalanta didn’t already have enough of an absence problem, the hosts will be forced to carry out a primary defensive reshuffle with Berat Djimsiti and Merih Demiral serving suspensions, as well as Gasperini’s lineout suspension for his outburst in the defeat to Fiorentina.
Finding defenders to fill the gaps will be more difficult with Jose Luis Palomino still out with a muscle problem, while periods of Zapata, Muriel, Josip Ilicic and Aleksei Miranchuk limit La Dea’s complex options.
Two teenagers in Giorgio Cittadini and Giorgio Scalvini could therefore join Rafael Toloi in the backline, but the more experienced Davide Zappacosta may also deputise further back.
Sampdoria also have some players on the court this week, as Antonio Candreva received his fifth yellow card of the season in the victory at Empoli, where Bartosz Bereszynski was booked for the tenth time.
Kristoffer Askildsen, Manolo Gabbiadini and Mikkel Damsgaard are still out of contention, but on a more positive note, Stefano Sensi and Sebastian Giovinco could return after taking part in a full educational consultation earlier this week.
Sensi could therefore deputise for Candreva in the centre – where Tomas Rincon is another option – while Andrea Conti is a straight swap for the suspended Bereszynski at right-back.
Atalanta BC starting line-up imaginable:Musso; Zappacosta, Toloi, Cittadini; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Maehle; Pasalic, Boga; Malinovski
Possible Sampdoria lineup: Falcone; Conti, Ferrari, Colley, Augello; Rincon, Ekdal, Thorsby; Sabiri; Caputo, Quagliarella
Atalanta’s exhausted attack and reduced defensive features make it hard to believe that a classic Dea is going crazy, especially as the Gewiss Stadium has not been kind to them so far this season.
However, Giampaolo has yet to motivate a replacement in Sampdoria’s winless and goalless streak and will have to deal with his own absent players. So we are confident that the hosts will build on their brilliant European performance and avoid the Blucerchiati’s momentum in a tight match. battle.
Our investigation of all available data, aggregating recent performances and player stats up to an hour before kick-off, indicated that the maximum likely final result of this is adjusted to an Atalanta BC win with a probability of 78. 13%. A draw had a 14. 4% chance and a Sampdoria win had a 7. 51% chance.
The maximum probable score for Atalanta BC to win was 2-0 with odds of 13. 13%. The next probable maximum scores for this final result were 3-0 (11. 13%) and 1-0 (10. 33%). The maximum probability of a draw was 1-1 (6. 83%), while for a Sampdoria win it was 0-1 (2. 69%). The actual outcome of 4-0 was predicted with a probability of 7. 1%. Our team at Sports Mole and our Knowledge Research predicted that Atalanta BC would win this game.