Atalanta hosts Bologna at the A.Azzurri D’Italia on July 21, 2020, as the Italian Serie A season nears its end.
Atalanta is currently in third place in the Italian table but they are tied with Internazionale in points. They can still finish in second place but before they think of that, they need to win this last home assignment against Bologna. On the other hand, the visitors head to Atalanta with little to play for. They are in the middle of the Serie A standings in 10th place. Bologna has not won in their last four matches with two draws and two losses during that span.
Atalanta
Atalanta took a second-half lead but was forced to a 1-1 draw at Verona last Saturday. The draw left them in third place in the Serie A table with a record 21-8-5 for a total of 71 points. They are tied with Internazionale on points but are ranked one spot lower due to inferior goal difference.
They are six points off leaders Juventus and it looks like the best that they could hope for is to take second place away from Inter with whom they are at level within points but who are one spot ahead of them. Internazionale still has a match on hand against Roma on the weekend.
Atalanta is undefeated in its last 14 league matches and that puts them in good form heading to the Champions League next month. Their home form has been good as well as they have won their last six home matches. They have scored a total of 50 home goals this year, more than any side on the table. In their last home assignment, Atalanta hammered Sampdoria 6-2.
- Luis Muriel leads Atalanta with a total of 17 goals scored on the season.
- Duvan Zapata has found the back of the net 16 times.
- Josip Ilicic has netted 15 times
- Alejandro Gomez leads the team with a total of 18 assists while also scoring six goals.
- Robin Gosens has eight assists and six goals scored.
Atalanta is the most prolific goal-scoring team in Italy this season with a total of 93 scored. They are 6th in defense with a total of 43 goals allowed. Atalanta also ranks 1st in passing with a total of 68 assists on the year. They are also lead the league in goal difference at +50 on the season.
Bologna
Bologna is currently in the middle of the pack at 10th place in the Italian Serie A team standings. They have a record of 11-10-13 with a total of 43 points earned this season. Bologna is five points behind 8th place Sassuolo but are a far 10 points off seventh place Napolis
Things have gone sour for Bologna since picking up a surprise win against Inter Milan in early July. Since then, they lost at home to Sassuolo 1-2 then they drew with Parma and Napoli before suffering a big loss to AC Milan the last time out. That loss ended a run where they didn’t lose on the road in three consecutive matches.
Bologna has little to play for and that was evident during last Saturday’s 1-5 wipeout against AC Milan. Bologna looked lethargic and didn’t show much in the Milan penalty area. Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu scored in the 44th minute to cut the lead to 1-2 but Milan finished them off with three more goals to earn all three points.
Riccardo Orsolini leads the team with a total of eight goals scored this year. Musa Barrow also has netted eight times while also issuing three assists and Rodrigo Palacio has six goals and three assists as well. Orsolini leads the team with five assists on the year while Roberto Soriano has four goals and four assists for the team.
Who Wins?
In the last 19 meetings between these two sides, Atalanta has won 11 times and Bologna only has five wins during that span. These teams played to a draw thrice during that period. Atalanta has won four out of the last five meetings but it’s interesting to note that Bologna won their last head to head meeting last December 2-1.
Joseph Ilicic is the only player from Atalanta who is on the injured list. Meanwhile, Bologna will be without Mattia Bani and Jerdy Schouten who are both injured. Roberto Soriano is also out of this game after picking up a one-game suspension for picking up a red card.
Atalanta has not lost in its last 14 league home matches and has won their last six games played at home. Bologna has not won in their last four league matches and is coming off a 1-5 defeat to AC Milan last Saturday.
Atalanta still has plenty to play for. They have the chance to finish second in the Serie A and head to Portugal for the Champions League last eight tournament. On the other hand, Bologna doesn’t have much to play for as we saw them get wiped out by AC Milan the last time out. I like the home team to win this match.
Prediction: Atalanta
Alternate Bet
Over 3.5
-114
Unde 3.5
-106
Odds from BetOnline as of 07/20/2020
These teams have combined to score over 2.5 goals in 9 out of their last 19 head to head meetings, including the last three. Atalanta is on a roll as they are unbeaten in their last five matches while scoring a total of 13 goals during that period. Overall, Atalanta has scored in its last 21 matches played. They have also scored at least one goal in each of their last 12 matches in their home field. The total has gone over in 13 out of 18 home matches played by Atalanta. The over is also 8-5-3 in Bologna’s 16 away matches this season. I like these teams to combine for over 2.5 goals.
Prediction: Over 2.5 goals at (-300). Odds from Bet365 as of 07/19/2020