Atalanta hosts Hellas Verona after UCL draw against Celtic.

2024-10-20

As Atalanta look to extend their unbeaten run in Serie A and Verona aim to avoid a third straight defeat, the clash at Gewiss Stadium promises a captivating battle of attacking prowess with Atalanta's Mateo Retegui leading the charge against a Verona side historically tricky to overcome on their turf.

Atalanta

Despite creating twenty-two shots with six on target, Celtic held Atalanta to a goalless draw at home in a UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday. “It was one of those games where, despite all the hard work, the ball just did not want to go in,” Atalanta's manager Gian Piero Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.

Back in Serie A, the Goddess picked up a 2-0 win over Venezia to extend their unbeaten run to three matches [WLDWW]. This victory took Atalanta to sixth place with 13 points [4W, 1D, 3L], ahead of their clash with Verona.

The Goddess are looking to stay unbeaten in five straight matches against Verona [3W, 1D, 0L] for the first time since a run of seven matches without defeat in this fixture between 1989 and 2000. They hope their attack, having scored the most goals in the league [18 goals] after eight matches, carries them to victory once again.

However, the hosts have conceded the most goals [13] among the top eight teams in Serie A and have kept just two clean sheets. Mateo Retegui, who has scored eight league goals this season, the most by anyone in Serie A, is expected to lead the attack once again in a 3—4—2—1 formation.

Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini, both dealing with ACL injuries, are not expected back until next year. Meanwhile, Odilon Kossounou [thigh] and Marco Brescianini [hamstring] are sidelined until next month.

Hellas Verona

Hellas Verona started their Serie A campaign on a strong note, securing victories in two of their opening three matches. However, they have since struggled, winning just one of their last five games. Their most recent league outing saw them suffer a 3-0 defeat to Monza at home, which has placed them 13th in the standings with nine points.

Paolo Zanetti's squad remains the only team in Serie A yet to record a draw this season. Notably, this marks the third time in the club's history that they have failed to secure a draw after the first eight matches. Should they find a winner on Saturday, it will be their first time without a single draw in the opening nine matches.

Their last encounter with Atalanta resulted in a 2-2 draw. A similar outcome on Saturday would mean two consecutive draws against Atalanta for the first time since 1990-1992. Notably, Hellas Verona has recently had successful visits to Atalanta, claiming two wins in their last four trips, matching the tally from their previous 20 visits.

The team is expected to line up in a 4-4-2 formation, featuring Daniel Mosquera and Casper Tengstedt in attack. Ondrej Duda will miss the clash due to suspension.