Atalanta vs Juventus preview

January 29, 2018
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Revived Atalanta play host to Serie A champions Juventus in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, with the Orobici hoping to create an advantage ahead of the return match in Turin.

The Bianconeri, on the other hand, are searching for their ninth successive triumph, but their recent performances have not been as impressive as the results would suggest.

Atalanta impressed in Europa League group stages to come on top of a very strong group, but their league performances suffered from the European exploits.

Orobici had struggled to hit the ground running in Serie A, but they managed to show a great deal of improvement in the last couple of months.

Atalanta recorded 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats in last nine fixtures to climb to eighth in the overall standings, and they now have a shot at securing another Europa League qualification.

Orobici did experience some problems on home soil in recent weeks, suffering defeats to Cagliari and Napoli, while they defeated Napoli, AS Roma and Sassuolo on the road.

Atalanta now face a tough task in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, but they definitely have the potential to shock their more illustrious opponents.

Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini managed to rest several regular starters in the 3-0 victory over Sassuolo, meaning that Papu Gomez, Andrea Petagna and Mattia Caldara will be recalled.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-2-1): Berisha – Toloi, Caldara, Masiello – Hateboer, Cristante, Freuler, Spinazzola – Ilicic, Gomez – Petagna.

Italian champions Juventus face a tough battle with in-form Napoli for the new Serie A trophy, but they also aim to impress in other competitions.

The Bianconeri have been achieving excellent results since the middle of December, but their performances do leave something to be desired.

Juventus have now won eight straight matches in all competitions, conceding just one goal, and they can be backed at 2.30 (13/10) to make it nine on the bounce.

The Bianconeri toiled against Chievo at the weekend and only managed to break the deadlock after the Flying Donkeys had a second man sent off.

Juventus will clearly have to raise their game if they want to avoid defeat in Bergamo, at the same venue where they squandered a two-goal lead back in October.

Max Allegri is still without Paulo Dybala, Claudio Marchisio, Benedikt Howedes and Juan Cuadrado, while the likes of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Alex Sandro and Giorgio Chiellini should be recalled.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Buffon – Lichtsteiner, Rugani, Chiellini, Alex Sandro – Khedira, Pjanic, Matuiti – Douglas Costa, Higuain, Mandzukic.

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