Atalanta welcome Lecce to the Gewiss Stadium in Serie A on Friday night, with both teams having different ambitions as the season closes.
Indeed, the hosts are in third place in the table and are hoping to cement a UEFA Champions League (UCL) spot for next season, while the visitors are in 17th and hoping to avoid relegation.
Atalanta have recorded impressive back-to-back victories against both Bologna and AC Milan without conceding, which comes after they had lost three in a row without scoring. The Bergamo-based outfit are the definition of inconsistency, although they should have few problems at home against struggling Lecce.
The visitors lost 3-0 in front of their own fans against Como last time out, and are now winless in 10 league matches. Atalanta have also won the previous three H2Hs to nil, which suggests that Lecce have an almighty task ahead of them should they wish to cause an upset.
How the bookies view it: Atalanta almighty favourites
As expected, Atalanta are huge odds-on favourites to win this one, with BoyleSports offering as short as 2/9 odds. The same bookmaker has priced a draw at 9/2, while Lecce are massive outsiders at 9/1 to take home all three points.
Recent head-to-head: Atalanta four-midable away
Atalanta romped to a 4-0 victory away from home in the reverse fixture in August, with Marco Brescianini and Mateo Retegui each netting a brace. The pair scored a goal in each half.
Players to watch: Retegui on a rampage?
As well as scoring a brace in the reverse fixture, Retegui also scored and assisted in Atalanta's last home win against Bologna. The striker is priced at a tempting 11/4 with BoyleSports to open the scoring against Lecce.
With top scorer Nikola Krstovic serving a suspension, Lecce may rely on the experienced Ante Rebic to lead the line and score the goals needed to produce a shock result.
Predicted lineups
Atalanta are suffering somewhat of an injury crisis in defence, as Berat Djimsiti sprained his ankle in the last outing, while Stefan Posch has also joined an ever-growing list of absentees. Odilon Kossounou is also still short of fitness, but may have to be rushed in from the start.
Lecce will be without top scorer Krstovic, who with Medon Berisha, is serving a suspension. Gaby Jean has also recently undergone surgery on a knee injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Toloi, Hien, Kossounou, Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui.
Lecce: Falcone, Veiga, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Gallo, Pierret, Coulibaly, Pierotti, Helgason, Morente, Rebic.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Atalanta have won the past three meetings without conceding, backing them to win to nil again at 20/21 with BoyleSports seems sensible. The same bookmaker are also offering a price boost of 7/4 for the hosts to win both halves, which is also tempting given what happened in the reverse fixture.
This Serie A match between Atalanta and Lecce will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Atalanta vs Lecce prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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