Atalanta failed to qualify for the Champions League last season, finishing eighth in the final Serie A standings.
First up for Gian Piero Gasperini’s team is Sampdoria. Sampdoria fought relegation last season and finished the campaign in 16th place.
Six points separated Sampdoria from the relegation zone. Sampdoria posted a record of 10W-6D-22L with 46 goals scored and 63 conceded. Atalanta posted a record of 16W-11D-11L with 65 goals for and 48 conceded.
Atalanta have played well against Sampdoria in recent seasons. La Dea posted a record of 4W-1D-1L in the last six matches between these teams. Atalanta won the last three matches versus Sampdoria. Two of those three matches finished as wins to nil.
Lea Dea outscored Sampdoria 12-4 in the last six matches. Atalanta scored at least two goals in their last three matches against Sampdoria in all competitions.
Coach Marco Giampaolo was hired in January 2022 and remains the team’s coach heading into this season. The club signed midfielder Tomas Rincon from Torino. The club also signed Sassuolo midfielder Filip Djuricic.
Striker Manolo Gabbiadini is set to miss the game with ligament injury. Simone Trimboli is likely to miss the game following a fractured collarbone.
Sassuolo have also signed centre-forward Francesco Caputo from Sassuolo. He arrived for around £3 million. Giampaolo is likely to play a 4-1-4-1 formation with Caputo leading the line.
Atalanta signed Ademola Lookman from RB Leipzig with the hope of turning the forward’s career around. Central midfielder Ederson arrived from Torino while Jermie Boga and Merih Demiral signed permanent contracts. Gasperini is likely to deploy the team in his favourite 3-4-1-2 formation.
Sampdoria struggled at home last term posting a record of 6W-3D-10L with 29 goals for and 32 against. The home side did win its last two matches at home during the 2021-22 season.
Atalanta were excellent on the road with a record of 12W-3D-4L in Serie A. La Dea scored 34 goals and conceded 19 to opponents. They scored the third fewest goals away from home in Serie A.
La Dea have played well against Sampdoria in recent seasons. The visitors should post an opening day win against Sampdoria with a scoreline of 3-0. Mario Pasalic led Atalanta in goals with 13 last term. He could get on the scoresheet for the Bergamo-based club.
Duvan Zapata was Sampdoria’s second-best goal scorer with 10 scores. Zapata could also get on the scoresheet for Atalanta as they roll to a win against Sampdoria at the Marassi.