Monza could officially be relegated from Serie A when Atalanta visit the U-Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Indeed the hosts are 12 points away from safety with just 12 points left to play for, and it is only goal difference that still keeps them in it. Monza's 2-0 defeat at Juventus was their fifth in a row, and having not tasted victory since January, it seems nearly impossible that they will get the four wins needed to give them a chance of staying up, and that is without every other result also going their way.
Atalanta slumped to a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to struggling Lecce last time out, but did stretch their unbeaten run to three games. The Bergamo outfit are still in third and in a good position in terms of securing Champions League football for next season, but just need to be careful with four matches still left to play.
Atalanta should be ok here though, as they have won the last five H2Hs. Their unbeaten run against Monza stretches further too, and so it is difficult to see the hosts troubling them too much.
How the bookies view it: Atalanta heavy favourites
Unsurprisingly, BoyleSports have Atalanta as heavy 1/5 favourites, with a draw valued at 5/1. Monza are priced out as far as 11/1 to win.
Recent head-to-head: Atalanta win to nil
Atalanta ran out 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture, with Lazar Samardzic the standout player as he grabbed himself a goal and assist. Davide Zappacosta grabbed the other goal late on, while Mateo Retegui also recorded an assist in this match.
Players to watch: Retegui could fill his boots
Dany Mota only has five goals this season, and has not quite hit the heights of previous in a Monza shirt. Can he rediscover some form against Atalanta?
Retegui has been among the goals for Atalanta lately, with two goals in his last three appearances. Back him to open the scoring at 3/1 with BoyleSports.
Predicted lineups
Andrea Carboni is suspended for Monza, so Tomas Palacios should replace him in the centre of defence. Former Atalanta midfielders Matteo Pessina and Roberto Gagliardini are among seven other absentees through injury.
Stefan Posch has recovered from injury for Atalanta, but there are still a number of longer-term absentees on the sidelines.
Monza: Turati, Pereira, Caldirola, Palacios, Birindelli, Castrovilli, Bianco, Akpa Akpro, Kyriakopoulos, Mota, Caprari.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti, Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta, Pasalic, Lookman, Retegui.
Anything else catch the eye?
Atalanta are heavy favourites, so perhaps we need to explore different markets. Monza's desperation to go out on a high could see both teams score at Evens with BoyleSports. The last four H2Hs have seen 15 goals scored at an average of around 3.8 per match, so backing Over 3.5 total goals at 6/5 with BoyleSports could also be a worthy punt.
This Serie A match between Monza and Atalanta will be played on and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Monza vs Atalanta prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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