Serie A dishes up a tasty top-two battle this weekend, with league leaders Napoli facing Atalanta in Bergamo on Saturday.
Napoli remain the only unbeaten side in Serie A this season. They have taken 32 points from a possible 36 and sit five points clear of second-place Atalanta.
Can Napoli extend their lead at the summit? Or will Atalanta close the gap on the runaway leaders? It’s time to take a closer look at both sides.
Let’s start with the hosts, Atalanta, who have lost just one of their 12 league games this term – picking up eight wins and three draws in the process.
Only one team – Juventus – have conceded fewer goals than Atalanta’s eight, with the Bergamo outfit keeping six clean sheets so far.
Interestingly, Atalanta have scored exactly two goals in five of their 12 Serie A outings this season. Still, they have scored over 2.5 goals on just one occasion.
Although Atalanta boast one of the best defensive records in the division, only one team in the top eight have scored fewer goals.
On the flip side, unbeaten Napoli have won ten and drawn two of their 12 league outings this term – scoring a whopping 30 goals along the way.
You probably won’t be surprised that learn that Napoli are the league’s top scorers, boasting a goals-per-game average of 2.5.
Luciano Spalletti’s side have won each of their past eight Serie A games, scoring over 1.5 goals on six occasions during that period.
That said, Napoli’s 13-game winning streak in all competitions was ended by Liverpool in midweek – with the English side claiming a 2-0 victory at Anfield.
Head-to-head: Across all competitions, Atalanta and Napoli have both won 13 of their past 36 meetings. The other ten encounters ended in a draw.
Although Napoli have won just two of their last nine matches against Atalanta, they managed to claim a 3-1 victory in Bergamo back in April.
Team news: Atalanta pair Davide Zappacosta and Marten de Roon look set to miss Saturday’s showdown due to injury.
As for Napoli, they will be without injured centre-back Amir Rrahmani as he continues to recover from a torn abductor muscle.
If Napoli’s recent form is anything to go by, Spalletti’s men should leave Bergamo with all three points on Saturday.
Forebet predicts that Napoli will score over 1.5 goals on their way to beating Atalanta, extending their lead at the Serie A summit in the process.