After crashing out of the UEFA Champions League, Atalanta turn their attention to their quest for a return to the competition next season. They travel to the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi for an Italian Serie A fixture against an out of sorts Verona.
Atalanta will be disappointed after crashing out of the Champions League. They lost 3-1 to Spanish giants Real Madrid on Tuesday for a 4-1 aggregate defeat with Luis Muriel getting their only goal.
Gianpiero Gasperini’s men can now turn their attention fully to domestic matters and their quest to return to Europe's elite club competition. They are currently fourth on the table, two points above fifth place Napoli and four behind AC Milan in second.
Atalanta head to Verona in good form with five wins in their last six Serie A matches, including a 3-1 victory over Spezia last time out. They also have a solid record on the road with three wins from their last four away matches.
Verona are coming off a 3-2 defeat at Sassuolo in their previous Serie A fixture. They twice came from behind to level matters through Darko Lazovic and Federico Dimarco but failed to hold on and conceded the winner nine minutes from time.
Ivan Juric’s men have had a decent campaign and look set for a comfortable mid-table finish. They are ninth on the table, well behind the continental places but in no danger of getting dragged into the relegation zone.
Verona have begun to stutter slightly in recent weeks and head into Sunday’s match with just one win their last five matches. They are currently on a two-match losing run and suffered a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan in their last home fixture.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Atalanta as the favourites and SBK is backing the Bergamo club at 7/10 to secure the victory. A win for Verona is priced at 43/10 by the same firm while a draw is set at odds of 31/10 by William Hill.
Atalanta have impressed on the road lately and with Verona looking off colour in recent matches, I am tempted to side with the bookies here and go for an away win.
Head to head
Atalanta have a slight advantage in this fixture with 10 wins from 23 previous matches. Verona have claimed nine victories while there have been just four draws between both teams.
Verona ran out 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture back in November.
Players to watch
Striker Luis Muriel has scored three goals in his last four matches for Atalanta in all competitions and is priced at 6/5 by Betfred in the anytime goalscorer market. At the other end of the pitch, centre back Jose Luis Palomino has guided the Bergamo club to clean sheets in three of their last four away matches and could be pivotal in stopping Verona on Sunday.
Antonin Barak is the top scorer for Verona this season with six goals and Paddy Power has the midfielder at 11/2 in the anytime goalscorer market. Another player worth keeping an eye on is wingback Diego Faraoni, who has six assists this season and often troubles defenders with his pace on the right.
Anything else catch the eye?
Atalanta and Verona produced over 3.5 goals in their last Serie A fixtures and a similar outcome is priced at 19/10 by Sporting Index. SBK has over 2.5 goals at odds of 13/17 while the same firm is offering 10/13 on both teams to score.
A bet combination is also worth considering with an Atalanta win and over 2.5 goals valued at 7/5 by betway. Both teams often score most of their goals after the interval so the second half could be worth a punt as the highest scoring half at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This Serie A match between Verona and Atalanta will be played on Mar 21, 2021 and kick off at 11:30. Check below for our tipsters best Verona vs Atalanta prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
