Atalanta BC and Monza face off after experiencing mixed fortunes last weekend in the Serie A. After two Serie A games, the Lombardy clubs meet in Bergamo for their final meeting before the break.
Preview (Atalanta BC vs. Monza)
Atalanta was down two goals to Frosinone when the game ended last Thursday at Stadio Benito Stirpe. They were eventually unable to mount a comeback and suffered their first loss of the 2023–24 season. After only 24 minutes, the Bergmaschi were behind by two goals. Duvan Zapata’s goal in the second half was all they could generate in response to the opening salvo of their promoted hosts, sending them home empty-handed. Gian Piero Gasperini is aiming for a top-four slot next spring after taking his team to a place. It secures their return to European football, but such setbacks may jeopardize the goals of Calcio’s enduring underachievers.
Former Almeria forward El Bilal Toure is out with a major thigh injury. Fellow summer addition Gianluca Scamacca has yet to score for La Dea. Milan reject Charles De Ketelaere scored in the opening-day victory over Sassuolo. Rasmus Hojlund left Bergamo for Manchester United after just one season. Gasperini should still have access to enough firepower. His team will now try to repeat their victory against Monza from the previous year. Nearly exactly a year after defeating the Biancorossi 2-0 on the road, Atalanta thrashed them 5-2 in June. Hojlund joined Teun Koopmeiners, who had a hat trick, on the ledger.
Monza had made significant progress under coach Raffaele Palladino after losing to La Dea near the beginning of their maiden Serie A journey. Palladino took over a week later and guided a promoted team to finish 11th on their top-flight debut. The Biancorossi picked up their first points of the new season last Saturday when goals on either side of halftime earned victory against Empoli, after a 2-0 loss to Inter on the opening day of their 2023–24 campaign. After losing in both the league and the cup, Palladino’s team finally got off to a winning start thanks to a brace from Andrea Colpani and some outstanding saves from Michele Di Gregorio. In their first competitive match, they were shocked to lose to Reggiana in the Coppa Italia.
Team News
For Atalanta’s second home game of the season, Jose Luis Palomino and Brandon Soppy are still sidelined in addition to long-term absentees Hans Hateboer (ACL) and El Bilal Toure (thigh). Duvan Zapata has been linked to a transfer away from Bergamo for a while now. Torino are leading the chase for his services. If this happens, Zapata would miss the opportunity to score in back-to-back league games for the first time since 2021. Gianluca Scamacca might potentially partner Ademola Lookman or Charles De Ketelaere in the Colombian’s place
Teun Koopmeiners, a reliable starter in the middle of the field, had a direct hand in four of La Dea’s seven Serie A goals against Monza, including a hat-trick in June. He is the only midfielder in Europe’s top five divisions to have scored multiple trebles (two) since the start of last season. Andrea Colpani, a standout for Monza, has scored three goals in his last three league games. This included one in a 5-2 defeat to Atalanta on the final day of the previous campaign. Colpani and Gianluca Caprari ought to assist Dany Mota up front on Saturday night because Andrea Petagna is departing.
The most prominent injury absence for the visitors is former Inter defender Danilo D’Ambrosio (ankle), while Armando Izzo is also having fitness issues and might not be present in their back three.
Atalanta BC 1 – 1 Monza
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