Gewiss Stadium is the venue as Atalanta and Napoli go head-to-head in a mouth-watering Serie A top-table six-pointer.
La Dea scored on either side of half-time to claim a clear-cut 2-0 win at bottom-half Empoli last weekend to bounce back from Lazio’s triumph in Bergamo via an identical scoreline.
The stakes could not be higher for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side as they bid to haul back a five-point deficit on league-leaders Napoli and hand their faint Scudetto hopes a boost.
Following last season’s dreadful eighth-place finish, Gasperini looks hellbent on leading Atalanta back to the top four, a feat they had achieved in three successive seasons beforehand.
The lack of European football has helped the home team acquire their best-ever points total at this point of the season (27), which should fill them with confidence ahead of Napoli’s visit.
Saturday’s encounter in Bergamo could prove crucial for the visitors’ pursuit of their first Scudetto since 1990, as they come into this round off the back of a first competitive defeat of the season.
Luciano Spalletti’s side fell to a 2-0 loss at Liverpool in midweek Champions League action but nonetheless progressed into the knock-out stages as Group A winners.
Back to Serie A, Napoli will be looking to build on their impressive eight-match winning league streak and potentially make it nine in a row for the first time during Spalletti’s reign.
Match Preview
Atalanta
Before losing to Lazio in their most recent home league outing, Atalanta had enjoyed a 100% unbeaten Serie A start in Bergamo (W3, D2) despite scoring more than once per game just twice in that sequence.
For years, La Dea’s porous backline had been one of the weakest links of this team, yet Gasperini’s meticulous work has turned them into one of the best-performing defensive sides in Serie A.
Only Juventus (seven) have conceded fewer Serie A goals than Atalanta (eight) this term, which can inspire their hopes of avoiding back-to-back top-flight defeats at home for only the second time under Gasperini.
Since they cannot call upon the services of Luis Muriel, who’s out with an injury, the hosts will have to maintain their defensive form to stand a chance against the most prolific Italian club.
Napoli
With standout performer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia unavailable for selection due to injury, Napoli will have to rely on Victor Osimhen to carry their free-scoring domestic form.
Spalletti’s men have netted a league-high 30 Serie A goals this season, including 14 outside Naples en route to making a similar 12-game start to the league campaign as last season.
Unlike 2021/22, where they lost their grip on the top place and eventually had to settle for a third-spot finish, the Partenopei look more than capable of sustaining their assault on the Scudetto this term.
After winning four straight away league games in the run-up to this fixture, they could make it five in a row under a single manager for the first time since 2017/18 under Maurizio Sarri.
Atalanta vs Napoli Potential Line-ups
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Juan Musso; Rafael Toloi, Merih Demiral, Berat Djimsiti; Hans Hateboer, Mario Pasalic, Teun Koopmeiners, Brandon Soppy; Ederson; Ademola Lookman, Rasmus Hojlund.
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano.
How to Watch?
Atalanta vs Napoli, alongside all other Serie A fixtures, is available to watch online via Serie A live streams.
Atalanta vs Napoli Prediction
With three of the last four Serie A matches between Atalanta and Napoli in Bergamo featuring over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring, we expect a high-scoring affair.
But based on the visitors’ impressive league showings, Spalletti’s side should walk away with all three points.
Atalanta 1-2 Napoli
