After enduring frustration in Europe, Atalanta BC will aim to bounce back with a Serie A win on Saturday evening, when they welcome Hellas Verona to Bergamo.
La Dea's path to Champions League victory was bravely blocked by Celtic in midweek, while their visitors went down to a humbling home defeat two days earlier.
Match preview
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Though they kept a third straight Champions League clean sheet in the process of dominating Wednesday's home game against Scottish champions Celtic, Atalanta could not break through and post a second win of the league phase.
The Bergamaschi posted some excellent stats - 62% possession, 99 attacks and 23 shots - but Mario Pasalic hit the woodwork and Kasper Schmeichel made a series of saves to keep the game goalless at Gewiss Stadium.
For once, star striker Mateo Retegui fired a blank, having previously taken his tally to eight goals in as many league matches for La Dea during a 2-0 victory over Venezia last weekend.
That success at Stadio Penzo took Atalanta up to sixth in the Serie A standings, only six points shy of top spot.
With Retegui's help, the Nerazzurri have scored the most goals in Italy's top flight this term (18) - only twice have they netted more after eight rounds. However, in contrast to some sterling work in Europe, their domestic defensive record has been far less impressive.
Gian Piero Gasperini will now lead his team into battle against Verona, who they have beaten in three of the clubs' last four league contests; remarkably, they have also drawn just one of the last 19 meetings in Bergamo.
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A definitive result could be on the cards, then, as Verona have not recorded any draws in their first eight games of a top-flight campaign for only the third time to date - one more win or loss would set a new club record in that regard.
The Scaligeri have actually won two of their last four away games against Atalanta - as many wins as they managed throughout the previous 20 - but events on Monday evening will surely dent confidence in the camp ahead of their latest trip to Lombardy.
Despite meeting the only team yet to win a single Serie A match this season, Paolo Zanetti's side were beaten 3-0 by Monza at Stadio Bentegodi, failing to stage a fightback after going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
That setback left Verona occupying 13th place on nine points so far, and only two sides have shipped more goals this term.
Including a first-round Coppa Italia defeat, they have now lost six of nine games in the opening stages of their 2024-25 campaign, meaning new boss Zanetti still has plenty to prove.
Team News
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Amid an action-packed period leading up to the next international break, Gian Piero Gasperini is likely to make a handful of changes to the side that drew with Celtic, perhaps bringing Charles De Ketelaere and Matteo Ruggeri back into his starting XI.
Retegui will be keen to keep his place, though, as he aims to find the net in three consecutive Serie A appearances for the first time. He has already scored more goals than in the whole of last season, and with one more would become just the second Italian player to reach nine in his first nine appearances for any Serie A side this century - Luca Toni bagged 11 for Fiorentina in 2005.
La Dea's injury list again features Rafael Toloi, Marco Brescianini and Odilon Kossounou, in addition to long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini.
Meanwhile, Verona - who have received the most yellow cards in Serie A this season (25) - must replace key midfielder Ondrej Duda due to his suspension for accumulated bookings.
The visitors are also without injured defenders Martin Frese and Pawel Dawidowicz, while Abdou Harroui and Juan Cruz are still sidelined.
Set to join Casper Tengstedt in the final third, Darko Lazovic has scored on both of his last two visits to Bergamo. Since joining the Gialloblu in 2019, the Serbian winger has been directly involved in 46 Serie A strikes (15 goals and 31 assists) - at least 10 more than any teammate.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Tchatchoua, Ghilardi, Magnani, Bradaric; Serdar, Belahyane; Suslov, Kastanos, Lazovic; Tengstedt
We say: Atalanta BC 3-1 Hellas Verona
Atalanta should take care of business against a Verona side that has been shipping plenty of goals, already conceding three on four separate occasions.
Posting a third league win on the spin would keep La Dea in the mix for top spot, as they look to stay the pace with several Scudetto contenders.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
