Thursday night’s Serie A clash between Atalanta and Bologna is a tale of two clubs pushing for very different goals.
Atalanta are fighting for a Champions League place with just four points separating them from AC Milan. Bologna are 17th in Serie A and just two points above the bottom three. Both clubs go into the midweek match in good form and a lot to play for in Bergamo.
Atalanta Bergamo are undefeated in four consecutive matches. Three of those fixtures ended in victory for La Dea. Atalanta have outscored their opponents 9-4 during their four-match unbeaten run. Their most recent win, a 3-1 victory over Parma, saw star striker Duvan Zapata score twice. The striker is third on the Serie A goalscoring chart with 19 goals. Zapata has tallied 32 percent of all of Atalanta’s goals.
Bologna have been on an impressive run of their own lately. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s team has caught fire winning three straight matches and improving their chances of Serie A survival. Mihajlovic took over as manager of Bologna on January 29th and his impact has led to three wins in four matches in charge. Bologna have outscored their opponents 7-3 during their three-match winning streak. The Rossoblu do not score a lot of goals, just 27 this term, and Mihajlovic’s change in approach as worked wonders.
Atalanta have won six consecutive matches against Bologna. Four of those six matches ended in clean sheet wins for La Dea. Atalanta have outscored Bologna 11-3 during their last six meetings in Serie A.
Coach Gian Piero Gasperini doesn’t have many injuries to worry about with Bologna headed to town. Rafael Toloi is set to miss out due to ankle injury, but Josip Ilicic should be able to overcome a sore knee to play on Thursday night.
Bologna FC striker Mattia Destro is sidelined with a thigh injury. The Italian hitman injured himself during a goal celebration and is now expected to miss three weeks of action. Federico Santander is expected to play after recovering from a shoulder sprain. However, Federico Mattiello is out with a hip muscle strain.
Atalanta are third in Serie A in goal difference at +20. La Dea are flying high and can reach the Champions League qualification places. Their recent history against Bologna has been good and they will continue to push for the top four on Thursday night. Atalanta will pick up their seventh straight win over Bologna in a game that sees over 2.5 goals scored in Bergamo.