Atalanta take on Juventus in midweek Serie A blockbuster.
[introduction]
Atalanta BC vs. Juventus FC kicks off at 19:45 [GMT] on Tuesday, December 14, at the Gewiss Stadium.
[home]
Atalanta have now gone two Serie A games without victory [WWWDD] following Saturday’s goalless draw against Udinese. La Dea were far from their attacking best, registering just two shots on target, one fewer than their hosts, who had the better chances, including a dramatic sequence of attempts right before the break. An Alexis Sánchez header struck the woodwork, falling right to the Chilean, whose rebound effort rattled the crossbar before goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi pulled off a brilliant save to keep out Sandi Lovric’s effort. ‘Udinese had a couple of clear goal opportunities, and we struggled to contain them physically,’ Gian Piero Gasperini admitted after the match. With the result, Atalanta slips to third in the standings with 42 points [13W, 3D, 3L], one point behind second-placed Inter Milan, despite having played one game more. Atalanta will look to get back to winning ways when they welcome Juve to the Gewiss this Tuesday, as they look to climb back up the standings. Gasperini’s side have the best home record in the division, with seven wins from eight league encounters on their turf [7W, 0D, 1L] and a league-high 25 goals scored at the ground. They will hope this record counts for something on Tuesday. However, recent encounters against the visitors at the Gewiss have not yielded success for the hosts, who are winless in their last five competitive meetings there [0W, 2D, 3L]. A 3—4—2—1 could be seen, with Charles De Ketelaere leading the attack.
[away]
Juventus, on the other hand, added another draw to their growing list of stalemates this season, playing out 1-1 with Torino on Saturday. Kenan Yıldız [8’] gave them an early lead after a fantastic solo effort, but the advantage was cancelled out just before the break. That result leaves the Old Lady with just one win from their last five league outings [DDWDD], bringing their season tally to 33 points from 19 matches [7W, 12D, 0L], while in fifth place on the standings as the only unbeaten side in Serie A. The Bianconeri travel to Atalanta this Tuesday looking to extend their unbeaten streak with a crucial win. They’ll hope to build on their recent success at the Gewiss, having won two of their last three competitive visits there [2W, 1D, 0L]. However, injuries in attack have left Juve facing an uphill battle. Top scorer Dušan Vlahović, with seven league goals, and Francisco Conceição remain sidelined. Motta could consider Nicolás González as his central striker, flanked by Timothy Weah and Yıldız in a likely 4—3—3 formation. Meanwhile, Juventus will also be without Napoli-linked Danilo, who has been frozen out of the squad.
