Overview
Continuing their most impressive streak since the beginning of the season, Atalanta defeated Torino in the mid-table area last weekend. Charles De Ketelaere finally ended his scoring thirst in Serie A, before Mario Pasalic sealed the victory with a late counter-attack.
3 consecutive wins in the league for the first time in the season have helped La Dea rise to seventh place, marking a clear step forward since coach Raffaele Palladino took over the team.
Since the beginning of December last year, Atalanta has successively defeated Bologna, Chelsea, Cagliari, Genoa and Roma, only losing to the top Scudetto contender Inter.
Closely following the group of six leading Serie A teams, the representative of Bergamo also nurtures hopes of winning a Champions League ticket when they have reached the Coppa Italy quarter-finals.
Not only maximizing the strength of a potential attack, Atalanta also showed solidity in defense when they only conceded one goal in the last 5 Serie A matches. And that was the goal conceded against the top team Inter.
Therefore, Palladino's team aims to continue accumulating points this weekend, when they play away at the home ground of the team that has the worst home record in Serie A.
In the first leg of this season, Pisa got their first draw out of a total of 10 matches to share points, when they held back Atalanta in the opening round.
At that time, as a rookie, the 1-1 draw at Bergamo once brought much hope for the relegation goal. However, Serie A quickly showed harshness to the Tuscany team.
After more than half of the first season participating in the highest league in Italy since 1991, Pisa is currently 4 points behind the safe group and has only won once.
Last weekend, they extended their unbeaten streak to 9 when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Udinese, despite twice shaking the opponent's net thanks to goals from Henrik Meister and Matteo Tramoni.
Despite having a not too bad away record, Pisa played particularly deadlocked at home, where they had only won 6 points and scored only one goal.
If they want to avoid the prospect of relegation, that trend must change. And the reception of Atalanta is considered the next opportunity for them to save themselves.
Personnel situation
Although Berat Djimsiti had to leave the field in the victory against Torino and is currently not in his best form, Atalanta still has more choices in defense with the return of center-back Odilon Kossounou after the African Cup.
In the opposite direction, Ademola Lookman is likely to leave the team in the mid-season transfer window and is still unable to play. Besides, the trio Sead Kolasinac, Raoul Bellanova and Mitchel Bakker are also sidelined due to injury.
According to sources in Italy, Giacomo Raspadori is considered a target that La Dea is aiming for to replace Lookman. In the current context, Nicola Zalewski and Charles De Ketelaere are the most promising candidates to support Nikola Krstovic or Gianluca Scamacca in attack.
The home team Pisa also faces many difficulties in terms of force. Veteran defender Antonio Caracciolo is absent due to suspension, while injuries including Juan Cuadrado, Raul Albiol, Calvin Stengs and Mateus Lusuardi have not yet been able to return.
Coach Alberto Gilardino also does not have the service of Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, who is on duty with the Nigerian national team at CAN, like Lookman. In return, Pisa has just added Rafiu Durosinmi to strengthen the firepower for the attack that is facing many deadlocks.
This striker may be given the opportunity to debut in Serie A, but will have to compete directly with Matteo Tramoni, Henrik Meister or Stefano Moreo to win a starting spot.
Expected lineup:
Scuffet, Calabresi, Canestrelli, Bonfanti, Toure, Marin, Aebischer, Angori, Tramoni, Moreo, Meister.
Carnesecchi, Scalvini, Hien, Ahanor, Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Bernasconi, De Ketelaere, Zalewski, Scamacca.
The match between Pisa and Atalanta takes place at 2:45 AM on January 17 (Vietnam time).
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