Two title rivals go toe-to-toe in a Scudetto showdown on Sunday evening, as Atalanta BC welcome Inter Milan to Bergamo.
Separated by fewer than 40 miles - and just three points in the Serie A standings - the two Nerazzurro sides will meet soon after Napoli have the chance to seize top spot in Venice.
Match preview
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Recording one of their most impressive victories to date, Atalanta dismantled fallen giants Juventus last weekend, when La Dea's wily coach Gian Piero Gasperini outsmarted his former player Thiago Motta in Turin.
Surely ending Juve's challenge - and keeping themselves in contention for a first Serie A title - the Bergamaschi blew away their hosts with a three-goal blitz after half time, having previously taken the lead through top scorer Mateo Retegui.
As a result of that historic success, which marked the worst home defeat for Juventus in almost six decades, Atalanta pulled level with Inter atop the Serie A goal charts with 63 from 28 games so far - at an average of 2.25 per game.
Though they recently conceded three at home to Club Brugge while exiting Europe, the Lombardy club have also kept a clean sheet in five consecutive top-flight games - only once before have they put together a longer such sequence, keeping six on the spin during the 1996-97 campaign.
Yet, there remains a sense that Gasperini's team have been stumbling just when the door has opened, as Atalanta are yet to win back-to-back Serie A matches in 2025 and are winless in five league games at the Gewiss Stadium since the start of the year.
Recent draws with relegation-threatened pair Cagliari and Venezia left La Dea as low as eighth in the home rankings, and they must now host their illustrious local rivals, before facing a tough run-in towards the end of the season.
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While Inter sit top of the table, second-placed Napoli can overtake them by beating Venezia in Serie A's Sunday lunchtime kickoff, and Atalanta could then catch Simone Inzaghi's side with a win.
History will be firmly on their side, though, as after a 4-0 success in this season's reverse fixture, they are unbeaten in the teams' last 12 league meetings.
As well as winning all of the last five by an aggregate scoreline of 16-5, Inter came out on top in their most recent encounter, amid the unfamiliar surrounds of Saudi Arabia, with a comfortable 2-0 win in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-finals.
Since losing the subsequent final to old foes AC Milan in dramatic fashion, they have not always been convincing - notably going winless through their last four league games on the road - but success on Tuesday evening booked a cherished place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
After winning last week's first leg at De Kuip, Inzaghi's men finished the job against Feyenoord when the pair met again in Milan, as Hakan Calhanoglu scored for the second time in three days to help secure a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Last weekend, the Turkish midfielder was on target during a 3-2 win over rock-bottom Monza, in which Inter averted embarrassment by fighting back from two goals down at San Siro.
Still leading the way in Italy's closest top-four race this century, the reigning champions hold their destiny within their own hands - and with the Coppa Italia also to play for, they can even target a treble.
Team News
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Given the stakes, both sides will select their strongest available team in Bergamo. Gian Piero Gasperini - who once had a brief and unsuccessful spell in charge of Inter - has had a week to work with his players, though he still has several men missing.
In addition to long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca, Odilon Kossounou and Giorgio Scalvini, Atalanta will be without Stefan Posch and ex-Inter winger Juan Cuadrado due to injury.
Up front, Ademola Lookman should support Capocannoniere rankings leader Mateo Retegui.
Only Simone's brother Filippo Inzaghi (24 in 1996-97) and Duvan Zapata (23 in 2018-19) have scored more goals in a single Serie A season for La Dea than Retegui - 22 and counting this term - but he has yet to score or provide an assist in 209 minutes of league action against Sunday's opponents.
Meanwhile, no player has netted more Serie A goals against the Bergamaschi than Inter captain Lautaro Martinez (six) over the past five years. Rested against Feyenoord, 'El Toro' should now reunite with Marcus Thuram in attack.
Two more key men, Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni, were also benched in midweek, but both will return to the starting lineup.
Joining wing-backs Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco and Nicola Zalewski on the sidelines, Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski has been ruled out for the next month; veteran defender Stefan de Vrij is a major doubt.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Augusto; Martinez, Thuram
We say: Atalanta BC 1-2 Inter Milan
Across the last 15 league meetings in Bergamo, both sides have recorded four wins, seven draws and scored 21 goals apiece - and this season's title race is also finely balanced.
Boasting a much better head-to-head record overall, Inter can tip the scales in their favour this weekend, with a win surely ruling out hopes of La Dea finally claiming the Scudetto.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
