Atalanta v Juventus – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Atalanta take on Juventus on Wednesday night in the Coppa Italia final at Mapei Stadium in Sassuolo. Juve lost last season’s final but are chasing a 14th triumph in this competition to salvage a season in which they lost their league title. Atalanta are in great form and have a chance to win a first major trophy in close to 60 years.

Atalanta have had a great season yet again. In Serie A, they have lost just once in their last 17 matches with 13 wins. Their only defeat in that run was to newly crowned champions, Inter. Having been knocked out of the Champions League in mid-March by Real Madrid, Atalanta have won eight and drawn two of their next 10 matches in the league.

If Atalanta beat Milan next weekend, they will finish second in Serie A and they have already secured a top four finish with a week to spare. The goals have been flowing freely with 17 scored in their last five matches including a 5-0 win over Bologna, a 5-2 win at Parma and a 4-3 win at Genoa in their last match.

Atalanta Team News

Centre back Rafael Toloi is out injured and will miss this match. Mario Pasalic is expected to be recalled as the number ten behind two strikers, with a big choice to make between Josip Ilicic, Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel. The latter only played the final minute against Genoa but has 22 Serie A goals and will surely start.

Gian Piero Gasperini will play his usual 3-5-2 shape with Robin Gosens a key man at left wingback with 12 goals scored this season.

Atalanta Motivation

Atalanta will be hugely motivated. Their form is excellent, they have secured Champions League football already with a match to spare and they will want to end the club’s very long wait for a trophy which is nearing 60 years.

They will attack and press Juventus and are sure to play with no fear.

Juventus Form

After several weeks of poor form with saw three defeats in ten Serie A matches to fall out of the top four, Juventus picked up a massive 3-2 win in their last match against newly crowned champions, Inter Milan. A week earlier, they were thrashed 3-0 at home by Milan which prompted calls for Andrea Pirlo’s head.

However, the side have won three of their last four matches including winning 2-1 at Udinese and beating champions Inter 3-2 last week. Cristiano Ronaldo scored once and Juan Cuadrado twice whilst Rodrigo Bentacur was red carded after 55 minutes, making that result all the more impressive. Defensively, the side are 14 matches without a clean sheet with their shaky, ageing backline a cause for concern.

Juventus Team News

Andrea Pirlo has no injuries to deal with but will be without left back Alex Sandro due to suspension. It’s not clear how they will deal with that but it may mean Danilo goes to left back and Juan Cuadrado moves to right back despite his brace against Inter.

Paulo Dybala is expected to partner Cristiano Ronaldo up front but Dejan Kulusevski started against Inter and is also pushing for place in attack. Gianluigi Buffon has played throughout the Coppa Italia and is likely to start his final match for the club in preference to Wojciech Szczesny.

Juventus Motivation

Juve have a massive match over the weekend as they travel to Bologna where they have to win and hope that Atalanta beat Milan in order to make the top four.

However, this is a huge match too as a trophy would go some way to salvaging a poor season and may be enough for Andrea Pirlo to keep his job. They won’t be able to open up against Atalanta’s fearsome attack but instead will need to be solid and use Ronaldo and Federico Chiesa to counter attack.

Key Stats

Atalanta have won 8 of their last 10 matches (D2)

Atalanta have scored 17 goals in their last 5 matches

Atalanta’s Luis Muriel has scored 22 Serie A goal this season

Atalanta have scored a league-high 90 goals this season in Serie A

Juventus have won 3 of their last 4 Serie A matches

Juve are 3 matches without victory against Atalanta (DDL)

Juventus have conceded in each of their last 14 matches in all competitions

Juve’s Ronaldo has scored 29 Serie A goals this season (top scorer)

Prediction

This should be a very good match to watch. Atalanta attack in numbers and look certain to score against a leaky Juventus backline that can’t keep clean sheets at the moment. Gasperini’s side are more focused on this match, arguably more desperate for victory and in better form. The best bet may be on them to end their trophy drought and pile misery on Juve.