Last season, Atalanta had a good season and qualified for Champions League for the first time in club history. While Atalanta have struggled in the Champions League this season, the Serie A season has been the opposite as they have found their stride and have continued where they left off last season.
It has been two months since the La Dea have lost their last match, which was back on September 1st against Torino. The club has been in fine form as, in their past eight matches, they won five and drawn three. Atalanta is sitting in third in the standings and five points behind Juventus for first place. With the way the club has been playing recently, Atalanta could be a possible contender against Juventus for the Scudetto.
The match this Sunday will not be easy as they will face Cagliari who have been impressive this season and are entering their match in good form. The Rossoblu are also unbeaten in their past eight matches as they have won five and drawn three. This past summer, the club was very active in the transfer market and brought players such as Nahitan Nandez, Giovanni Simeone and Radja Nainggolan, among others, who have helped the club this season and have them competing for a spot for the Europa League.
Each team will be entering their match coming off a win in their recent fixture. Atalanta fought back against Napoli to tie 2-2 in the 86th minute after Josip Ilicic scored to tie the game and extend their unbeaten streak. As for Cagliari, they beat Bologna 3-2 with Joao Pedro scoring the insurance goal in the 83rd minute to help seal the victory.
In the 33 overall games that these two clubs have played, Atalanta has a narrow advantage with fourteen wins, twelve losses and seven draws. When the La Dea have played the Sardinians at home, they hold a record of ten wins, four losses and two draws. Expect a thriller and one which could be high scoring as the two sides have averaged 2.5 goals per game when they play at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
Predicted line up: Atalanta vs Cagliari
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Gollini – Toloi, Kjaer, Masiello – Hateboer, Pasalic, Freuler, Gosens – Malinovskyi – Muriel, Ilicic.
Cagliari (4-3-1-2): Olsen – Farago, Klavan, Pisacane, Cacciatore – Rog, Nandez, Nainggolan – Castro – Simeone, Joao Pedro.
Injuries and suspensions
Atalanta: Duvan Zapata (Injured)
Cagliari: Leonardo Pavoletti (Out Indefinitely), Alessio Cragno (Out Indefinitely), Luca Ceppitelli (Out Indefinitely)
Players to watch
Joao Pedro is off to a good start this season as the midfielder has started in all ten matches and has led the team in scoring with five goals. In his recent match against Bologna, the midfielder scored two goals with his second goal being the game-winner. Pedro is on pace to beat his best season which was in 2015/16 when he scored thirteen goals and three assists.
Josip Ilicic has found his stride as he scored three goals in his last two matches. The forward has stepped up for Atalanta providing some offence in the absence of Duvan Zapata from injury. This season the midfielder has scored four goals and one assist overall. In his past two seasons with the club, he has scored over ten goals and could be on pace to match that again this season while continuing to impress with his club.