Preview: Napoli vs Atalanta – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction

Saturday’s Serie A motion wraps up at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with a mouth-watering conflict between Napoli and Atalanta. Each side are underneath super strain heading into this assembly following a string of underwhelming performances earlier than the worldwide break.

Antonio Conte should have felt an enormous sense of reduction when the worldwide window put a cease to membership soccer for a fortnight. Certainly, his underperforming Napoli facet slumped to a three-game winless streak in all competitions earlier than the two-week hiatus (D2, L1), failing to attain on every event.

Moreover, a 2-0 defeat at Bologna final outing left the reigning Serie A champions two factors adrift of Inter and Roma. Regardless of beginning this spherical in fourth, Napoli can spend the night time on the prime of the three with a win right here, although it would require a big enchancment on their pre-international break kind.

Talking of enchancment, Atalanta felt like they wanted an improve on Ivan Juric throughout the break. As such, they fired the previous Hellas Verona and Torino supervisor and appointed Raffaele Palladino as their new head coach final week. The change was essential, contemplating they started this spherical in Serie A’s decrease reaches.

Palladino couldn’t have imagined a more difficult job on his touchline debut as he returns to administration after a number of months, having parted methods with Fiorentina on the finish of final season. Marooned in decrease mid-table, Atalanta can’t afford one other slip-up in the event that they’re to return in competition for European qualification.

Match Preview

Napoli

Rising scoring points have not too long ago derailed Napoli’s title protection. Nonetheless, Conte’s males have been in formidable kind on the Maradona Stadium, going unbeaten of their final 16 Serie A matches right here (W12, D4). The truth is, they continue to be the one facet throughout Europe’s conventional top-five divisions but to lose a house league recreation this calendar yr.

Certainly, you’d want to return to December 2024 for the Partenopei’s final dwelling failure, which maybe finest illustrates the scale of the duty awaiting Atalanta this weekend. Napoli should use their excellent dwelling kind as an inspiration to assist them snap their torrid scoreless run as they threat going three consecutive Serie A outings with out scoring for the primary time since January 2024.

Napoli squeezed previous Atalanta 3-2 of their final top-flight showdown, avenging a pair of 3-0 defeats by the hands of La Dea in 2024. One other strong defensive begin would seemingly improve the hosts’ probabilities of going back-to-back, with Conte’s facet conceding earlier than halftime in solely two of their final 13 dwelling matches in all competitions.

Atalanta

Winless of their final seven league video games (D5, L2), Atalanta stay unable to maneuver on from the illustrious Gian Piero Gasperini period. Whether or not Palladino might assist La Dea flip the web page stays unsure, however as one in all Serie A’s most promising younger coaches, the 41-year-old to inject power right into a facet determined for a return to profitable methods.

Palladino’s first job is to assist Atalanta recuperate from a humiliating 3-0 dwelling loss to newly promoted Sassuolo in Juric’s final recreation accountable for the membership. Nonetheless, an instantaneous success appears to be like extremely unbelievable, given the guests’ sub-standard away report in Serie A this season (W1, D3, L1).

One other winless outing would see Atalanta fail to win at the least two of their first six Serie A street journeys in a brand new season for the primary time since 2017/18. Nonetheless, consecutive 3-0 victories on the Maradona Stadium present that Palladino’s males are able to upsetting the apple cart, giving them a uncommon confidence enhance forward of a frightening conflict.

Crew Information

Along with long-term absentees Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli can’t name upon star midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Furthermore, Scottish playmaker Billy Gilmour can be on the sidelines with a groin damage, additional depleting Conte’s midfield choices. In the meantime, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic will begin in purpose, with Alex Meret nonetheless injured.

However, Atalanta will take this journey with out Mitchell Bakker and Giorgio Scalvini. The latter’s absence means Odilon Kossounou will retain his place on the again, alongside Isak Hien and Berat Djimsiti. The one notable change in comparison with the sport in opposition to Sassuolo might be Gianluca Scamacca’s return to the beginning XI on the expense of Nikola Krstovic.

Napoli vs Atalanta Potential Beginning Line-ups

Napoli (3-4-3): Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Good Morning; Di Lorenzo, Lobotka, McTominay, Gutierrez; Politano, Hojlund, Neres.

Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zalewski; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Scamacca.

Napoli vs Atalanta Prediction

Solely an intimidating dwelling report has saved Napoli within the Scudetto body to date, however we wouldn’t put it previous Atalanta to knock the Partenopei off their perch. It’s maybe too optimistic to again La Dea to say all three factors, however a draw might be a practical purpose for the guests.

Prediction: Draw

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