Overview
Atalanta and Napoli are competitors for the Serie A championship this season. However, while Napoli is flying high with 5 consecutive wins, Atalanta has shown signs of losing steam when they were held to a draw in the last 3 rounds.
Poor results have caused Atalanta to fall to 3rd place and have Napoli set a 4-point gap. In the upcoming match, Atalanta will play at home and they need to take advantage of this advantage to narrow the gap with their opponents in the rankings.
Home field has been a big support for Atalanta this season, with them winning 7, drawing 1 and losing only 1. They have scored 26 goals in 9 home matches this season in Serie A. Therefore, despite their poor form, home matches will be a fulcrum for Atalanta to hope for a good result against the top team.
As for Napoli, they have just suffered a serious loss when star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia joined Paris St Germain. At the moment, Napoli cannot immediately find a replacement for the 23-year-old winger.
The departure of Kvaratskhelia will greatly affect the way Napoli operates their playing style and spirit in the upcoming match. In addition, they have not had a good record against Atalanta recently.
Napoli was beaten 3-0 by Atalanta at Diego Maradona in the first leg of this season. That was one of the few times Napoli conceded more than 1 goal in this year's campaign.
With home advantage and high determination, Atalanta is expected to win at least 1 point against Napoli.
Personnel situation
In addition to being suspended Kolasinac, Atalanta are also absent from Scamacca, Cuadrado and Kossounou due to injury. Notably, Zaniolo will be suspended for the next match if he receives an additional yellow card.
On the other side of the front line, Napoli will have to find a way to fill the void left by Kvaratskhelia. Meanwhile, defender Buongiorno is also unable to return due to injury.
Expected lineup:
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti, Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui.
Napoli: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Olivera, Anguissa, lobotka, Politano, McTominay, Neres, Lukaku.
The match between Atalanta and Napoli takes place at 2:45 am on January 19 (Vietnam time).
