Overview
With 23 points after 12 matches in Serie A, Atalanta has significantly improved their position in the standings since Raffaele Palladino took over in November. And they continued to maintain that progress with an impressive victory in the middle of last week.
Last weekend, La Dea overcame a difficult challenge against top 6 rivals Como with a brave performance. They had to play almost the whole match with 10 men and relied heavily on Marco Carnesecchi's saves to keep the 0-0 draw. A few days later, Atalanta did even better when neatly resolving their task at the Coppa Italia.
To repay the debt in the 2024 final, Atalanta defeated Juventus 3-0, winning a ticket to the Coppa Italia semi-finals, where they will face Lazio or defending champion Bologna. Gianluca Scamacca opened the score from the penalty spot, before two substitutes Mario Pasalic and Kamaldeen Sulemana sealed the victory at the end of the second half. Notably, Palladino's team also had their eighth clean sheet in just a short period of his time in charge.
Besides the clash with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League play-offs (two legs) at the end of this month, Atalanta now has to focus back on Serie A. They are ranked seventh, just outside the European Cup group, and the upcoming match at New Balance Arena is a favorable opportunity for Atalanta to extend their home winning streak.
Their opponent, Cremonese, is declining. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg in October, Cremonese has not yet won against Atalanta in any matches in the national championship this century (including both divisions). Even, they have never won all 3 points away at Bergamo in Serie A - a statistic that makes the upcoming task even heavier.
Current form also does not support Davide Nicola's team. Atalanta has only conceded once in Serie A in 2026, while Cremonese's attack is the most deadlocked in the league when they have only scored 2 goals since the beginning of the solar year. They have been goalless for 4 consecutive matches, experiencing a 9-match winless streak and are gradually being pulled into a dangerous zone.
Still outside the relegation group among teams with the same 23 points, but Nicola - who is famous for being "lucky" in relegation races - is under pressure to reverse the situation soon. The 0-2 lackluster defeat to Inter Milan last week only made things worse, and the upcoming schedule is also not easy when they still have to face Atalanta, Roma and AC Milan in the next 4 rounds.
Personnel situation
The home team will be missing young center-back Honest Ahanor (receiving a red card last week) and captain Marten de Roon due to suspension, but in addition Raffaele Palladino has almost full options after the long-awaited return of Mitchel Bakker.
After only a slight rotation in the midweek match, Palladino is likely to field a more stable squad, with Gianluca Scamacca prioritized to play highest, surpassing Nikola Krstovic in the race for a starting spot.
On the visiting team's side, new signings Milan Djuric, Sebastiano Esposito and Youssef Maleh have all played against Inter, in which Maleh replaced Jari Vandeputte due to muscle problems.
The Belgian midfielder may be back in time, and full-back Tommaso Barbieri will also reappear after suspension. However, Davide Nicola still lacks the injury trio including Michele Collocolo, Antonio Sanabria and Warren Bondo.
Expected lineup:
Carnesecchi, Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti, Zappacosta, Ederson, Pasalic, Bernasconi, De Ketelaere, Raspadori, Scamacca.
Audero, Terracciano, Baschirotto, Luperto, Barbieri, Thorsby, Grassi, Maleh, Pezzella, Bonazzoli, Vardy.
The match between Atalanta and Cremonese takes place at 0:30 am on February 10 (Vietnam time).
