Atalanta welcome Lazio to the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Sunday evening with their hopes of a first Serie A title for the club slowly fading.
Indeed, two defeats in their last two league matches to Inter Milan and Fiorentina respectively have seen them slip to being nine points behind the current leaders and six behind second-placed Napoli, making it extremely difficult to claw their way back up with just eight games left to play.
They may even consider themselves to be in a top-four battle now with Lazio, who are currently three places and four points off of those positions. A winless run of three matches in the league, and four in all competitions, has seen them lose ground in the chase for UEFA Champions League (UCL) football for next season.
Lazio's H2H record against Atalanta is mixed in recent times, with one win, draw and defeat over the previous three meetings. The stalemate came in the reverse fixture in December earlier this season.
How the bookies view it: Atalanta odds-on favourites
Atalanta are 4/6 odds-on favourites with BoyleSports to take home all three points, while a draw is the next favoured result at 14/5. A Lazio victory is priced at 10/3 with the same bookmaker.
Recent head-to-head: Spoils shared in reverse fixture
These two sides last met just after Christmas, where it finished in a 1-1 draw. Hosts Lazio took the lead in the first half through Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Atalanta equalised late on through Marco Brescianini.
Players to watch: Will Romagnoli score again?
Charles De Ketelaere is yet to score in any of his previous 13 appearances for Atalanta, and they really need the Belgian to step up if they still have any title aspirations.
Four of Lazio's last five goals have been scored by defenders, and Alessio Romagnoli has got three of them. He has proven himself to be a threat in both boxes, and BoyleSports are offering a huge 22/1 for him to score again against a troubled Atalanta defence.
Predicted lineups
Ederson should return from suspension for Atalanta, but there are a number of long-term absentees due to injury including the likes of Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini.
Taty Castellanos is edging closer to full fitness for Lazio, although he is not expected to be quite ready to start. Matias Vecino returns from suspension though in a boost for the visitors.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui.
Lazio: Provedel, Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares, Vecino, Rovella, Isaksen, Pedro, Zaccagni, Dia.
Anything else catch the eye?
The last three H2Hs have seen both teams score, so backing Both Teams To Score (BTTS) again at 8/11 with BoyleSports seems a safe bet. Those three meetings also saw 11 goals at an average of nearly four per game, and BoyleSports are offering a fairly generous 19/10 price for Over 3.5 total goals.
This Serie A match between Atalanta and Lazio will be played on and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atalanta vs Lazio prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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