Atalanta will take on Cagliari in Serie A action this weekend, with the hosts looking to build on their impressive 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
That win was Atalanta's best of the season so far, in what has been a difficult campaign. The club are already onto their second manager of the season, with Raffaele Palladino taking the reins last month.
Their opponents on Saturday, Cagliari, are just one place below them in the league table, so will fancy their chances of getting something.
How the bookies view it: Atalanta are big favourites
Atalanta start the match as big favourites, with Bet365 pricing a home victory at 1/3. Despite only having two points fewer than their opponents, a Cagliari victory has been priced at 17/2, while the draw can be had at 4/1.
Head to head: Honours even
Cagliari's price of 17/2 looks very appealing when you look at the recent H2H record between these two teams. Over the last five clashes, both of them have enjoyed two wins apiece while the fifth match finished all square, so there really isn't anything to separate them in this regard.
Players to watch: The Scamacca show?
Nobody in the Atlanta squad has benefited more from the managerial change last month than former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca. The centre-forward has always had the skillset to succeed in Italian football, and over the last month, he has returned to something close to his best.
Since Palladino took charge at the beginning of November, Scamacca has scored three goals and provided two assists in six appearances across all competitions for Atalanta, and after scoring the equaliser against Chelsea on Tuesday night, he will be in a confident mood ahead of this one.
Atalanta will be glad that Cagliari will be unable to field Marco Palestra on Saturday, as the 20-year-old wingback has been a shining light for the minnows this season. Without Palestra on the field, it's difficult to see how Cagliari will be able to get a foothold in the game.
Cagliari's top scorer this season is Gennaro Borrelli, but he only has three Serie A goals to his name, so he shouldn't be too much of a concern.
Predicted line-ups
As mentioned, Palestra is ineligible for Cagliari as Atalanta are his parent club. On the injury front, the visitors are without Yerry Mina, Ze Pedro, Mattia Felici and Andrea Belotti. Meanwhile, Atalanta are without Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mitchel Bakker. Ademola Lookman will play his final match for the club before heading to AFCON.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi – Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti – Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Zalewski – De Ketelaere, Lookman – Scamacca
Cagliari: Caprile – Zappa, Rodriguez, Luperto – Pisacane, Adopo, Deiola, Folorunsho, Obert – Esposito, Borrelli
Anything else catch the eye
Don't expect this to be a goalfest as Cagliari, in particular, are a team that aren't often involved in high-scoring matches. Four of their last six matches in all competitions have produced fewer than three goals, while the last clash between these two clubs finished goalless.
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