Inter Milan will resume Serie A action on Sunday, and Christian Chivu will want to stay top after the weekend when they make the short trip to face Atalanta.
Atalanta will want to give their fans something credible to cheer about and improve their overall form against title-challenging Inter Milan. La Dea are known for their goalscoring prowess in recent years, but have failed to score in half of their last eight home games against the Nerazzurri.
Raffaele Palladino has stabilised the ship following the ill-fated reign of Ivan Juric earlier in the season, as Atalanta are making amends for the mistakes in the early weeks. They have only lost one out of their last seven across all competitions while collecting maximum points in their last two Serie A games.
The most recent one came against Genoa, where Atalanta had a man advantage for most of the game following the goalkeeper Nicola Leali being sent off in the third minute. Yet, it took a second-half injury-time goal from defender Isak Hien to secure the win, as they cannot be this complacent against the formidable Inter Milan.
For a second year in a row, Inter Milan came back from Saudi Arabia empty-handed, as they were ousted in the Supercoppa Italia. Bologna came out victorious in the semi-final of that competition on penalties, and Christian Chivu will want to re-focus on the task at hand in the league.
Since losing to title and arch rivals AC Milan, Inter Milan have secured three straight victories to go top of the Serie A standings. They are currently a point ahead of the Rossoneri and two points ahead of champions Napoli on the table.
Compared to the games they have played of late in the league, this trip to Bergamo could be a testing clash for Chivu’s men. Inter Milan will certainly want to finish the weekend at the summit of Serie A, and they do have a good record against Atalanta to fall back on.
Team News & Tactics
Atalanta
AFCON duties mean Atalanta will miss a few of their key stars, with Ademola Lookman a notable absentee as he represents Nigeria at the tournament. Odilon Kossounou is the other star missing out having being called up by Ivory Coast. Gianluca Scamacca should come into the team in place of the Nigerian.
Mitchel Bakker, Berat Djimsiti and Raoul Bellanova are the players missing this clash with injury issues. Beyond that, Raffaele Palladino will have a strong enough team to call upon, with Hien partnering Sead Kolasinac and Marten De Roon at the back, with the latter likely to take up a makeshift role there.
Palladino will prefer a five-man setup in the midfield approach, with Davide Zappacosta and Nicola Zalewski reprising the wing-back roles. Yunus Musah might come into the midfield should De Roon play at the back, with Ederson and Charles De Ketelaere also featuring in the central roles. Scamacca will start up front. Nikola Krstovic will be the other centre-forward to lead the line.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Carnesecchi; De Roon, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, De Ketelaere, Ederson, Musah, Zalewski; Krstovic; Scamacca
Inter Milan
There are a few positive injury-related news in the Inter Milan camp as the club have welcomed key midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu back from an abductor problem ahead of the game against Atalanta this weekend.
Matteo Darmian is also fit after spending many weeks on the sidelines. However, there are some absentees in the mix, as Francesco Acerbi is still out with a thigh problem, while Denzel Dumfries is expected to be out until March after undergoing ankle surgery.
Meanwhile, there is a knee issue for Yoan-Ange Bonny, which will likely keep him out of this trip to Bergamo. Beyond that, Cristian Chivu should have a good enough squad to select from, as Inter Milan do not have AFCON-related absentees heading into the game against Atalanta.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Akanji, Bisseck, Bastoni; Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Key Stats
- Inter have won six of their last seven matches in Serie A.
- Inter have won their last eight matches against Atalanta in all competitions.
- Inter have kept a clean sheet in their last four matches against Atalanta in all competitions.
- Atalanta have lost just once in their last seven games across all competitions.
Player to Watch
Lautaro Martinez
After a patchy start to the new Serie A campaign, Lautaro Martínez is beginning to find his feet and goalscoring form for the club. Often, there are criticisms of Inter Milan’s skipper and his performances in big games, while many do complain that he might be a flat-track bully against the smaller sides.
The latter might be true, as his recent form shows. In the last three games, Martinez has scored four times, and that is something Cristian Chivu would want to continue against a slightly tougher opponent like Atalanta. A goal in Bergamo could help Martinez push back on the criticism, as well as continue to help his team in their quest to regain the Serie A title.
Prediction
Atalanta 1-2 Inter Milan
The Bergamo outfit are in a good vein of form of late, but they are somewhat struggling to make things count on the goalscoring front. Even though Atalanta play this upcoming clash with Inter Milan on home soil, they are by no means favourites to get something out of this clash.
On the other hand, Inter Milan are currently leading the standings in Serie A, and they are on a three-game winning streak. Their overall record in Bergamo does make them the favourites in this clash, which might be the case again on Sunday. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Cristian Chivu and his charges.