Atalanta had a dream season in 2018-19 qualifying for the Champions League for the first time ever. They drew twice in the league against Juventus during that magical season and even beat the Serie A champions 3-0 in the Coppa Italia.
The glass slipper has broken, however, as Atalanta are not the team they were last term and Champions League results have not been good. La Dea are fifth in Serie A and 10 points behind Juventus in the table.
The Bianconeri go into the weekend with a one-point lead over Inter Milan in what is a two-horse race for the Scudetto. Juventus have taken 32 points from 36 possible and go into Saturday’s game on the back of three straight wins.
Atalanta are winless in their last three league games with two ending in draws. Those draws came against Napoli and Sampdoria while a loss occurred against high-flying Cagliari.
Juventus are unbeaten in nine of the last 10 meetings between the two clubs. Six of those games ended with both teams scoring and five in Juventus wins.
The big issue heading into the match for Juventus is the relationship between coach Maurizio Sarri and Cristiano Ronaldo. The player was subbed-off in Juventus’ win over AC Milan prompting a clash between the duo.
Ronaldo had been struggling with injuries and was the reason for Sarri’s decision. It did not go down well with the forward, however. Miralem Pjanic may not be available for the weekend due to an abductor injury picked up on international duty.
Gian Piero Gasperini will be without Ruslan Malinovsky and Josip Ilicic due to suspension. Striker Duvan Zapata could make his first-team return and boost Atalanta’s goalscoring chances.
Atalanta have been very poor at home this season collecting seven points from 15 possible. Their most recent home fixture against Cagliari ended in a 2-0 loss. La Dea are playing better on their travels this term.
Juventus have taken 14 of 18 points on the road and have not lost yet. Their most recent away win came against Turin rival Torino. The derby ended in a 1-0 Juventus win.
Saturday’s game should go much different to the games the two teams played last season. The Bianconeri are rolling under Sarri and should take another big three points. Juventus won’t experience the struggles of last season against La Dea.
Juventus average 1.38 goals per game away from Turin while conceding 0.75 goals. Expect Juventus to win with over 2.5 goals going into the back of the net. A loss could send Atalanta out of the top six in the Serie A table.