Serie A: Atalanta Looking to Regain Form Against AC Milan

Atalanta vs. AC Milan

Atalanta will look to improve on their form in Serie A as they’ll host the visiting AC Milan at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia Stadium on Sunday night.

The Bergamo-based squad had fallen back to earth after their murderous row the last time around. They are currently clinging to the sixth spot at the table with 28 points.

Atalanta remarkably made history when they reached the knockout stage of the Champions League last week. They advanced to the next round despite failing to win any of their first four group stage matches, and then they won handily against Shakhtar Donetsk to book their spot.

They did, however, endure a tough loss against Bologna five days ago even if the latter was down to only 10 men after Danilo Larangeira was sent off via a red card. With that said, Atalanta will be keen on getting back on track.

As for AC Milan, they’ve done okay over these past few weeks as they have never lost in four out of their five matches. Stefano Pioli’s side has won two on the road by defeating the likes of Parma and Bologna. They are currently at the 10^th spot at the table with 21 points.

While the Rossoneri have gotten the better of the Orobici in their head-to-heads, it remains to be seen on who will emerge victorious on this one. Either way, SBOBET fans will be in for a huge treat.

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Talking Points

Atalanta getting healthier

Atalanta have some good news ahead of this match, as they are set to welcome back some of their key players.

In a recent report, Atalanta will have the likes of Captain Papu Gomez and forward Josip Ilicic to bolster their lineup. Gomez dealt with a leg bruise that caused him to miss their game against Bologna, while Ilicic was sidelined for a couple of matches after suffering a knee ailment.

Team manager Gian Piero Gasperini will now have a deeper lineup and he can opt to either start them right away or come off the bench depending on their fitness levels.

Atalanta remain at 6th with 7 points clear of 10th place Milan in Serie A table — Gian Piero Gasperini determined to move to 5th place

Especially on their attack, a healthier Josip Ilicic should further boost their scoring chances. Prior to the injury, the 31-year-old forward, who currently has five goals and two assists in the league, has formed a successful attacking partnership with strikers Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata.

Luis Muriel is one of Serie A’s top scorers at fourth place with nine already under his name. The Colombian striker is one fearsome attackers capable of producing some of the best Serie A 2019 highlights. Zapata, meanwhile, has registered six goals and two assists already.

Atalanta are the league’s top scoring team with 38 goals already. And once that they improve on their overall defence, I wouldn’t be surprised if they will finish at least at the fourth spot in season’s end.

AC Milan missing some key players

Team boss Stefano Pioli has now acclimated himself with the team. And it’s a good thing to see especially since fans were quick to criticize him even if he hasn’t coached a game yet for AC Milan.

Their defence, which has been a problem before, has slightly improved as they posted two clean sheets already for the past month. One of their more memorable games recently was when they made life harder against Juventus even if they lost via a late Paulo Dybala goal.

Pioli adapted a 4-3-3 formation which has been working wonders for Milan compared to their previous 3-4-1-2 formation, and we can expect that trend to continue for their upcoming games.

However, this time, it’s their attack that needs some work. As of this writing, they’re currently 16^th in the league in terms of goals made with only 16 goals. The Rossoneri have been heavily reliant on Krzysztof Piatek to score their goals and he leads them with four.

Furthermore, their overall play will be compromised due to the suspensions of Theo Hernandez and Lucas Paqueta. Other players like Leo Duarte and Mattia Caldara are yet to reach full fitness due to their injuries.

For Pioli’s side to have a chance in this game, AC Milan would need to make this a slow-paced slugfest.

History

Atalanta and AC Milan have faced each other 34 times where the former has won in nine while the latter has won in 14 along with 11 draws.

AC Milan have scored in 26 of their last 27 road matches against Atalanta in Serie A.

Atalanta’s last win over AC Milan was back in December 2017 with a 2-0 clean sheet.

Betting Tip

	Atalanta vs AC Milan	Atalanta Asian Handicap -0.50 @1.82
	December 22, 19:30 (GMT+8)

Our Serie A 2019 odds have placed Atalanta at 1.81, AC Milan at 4.10 and a draw at 3.65 in the 1×2 market, which isn’t surprising at all based on the talking points I just provided above.

The Orobici are expected to pour in goals and give the Rossoneri’s defence a lot of problems, which is why I’m expecting them to cruise along with an easy win.