Napoli vs Atalanta
Days after the international break, club football is back and we are in for a huge treat.
Serie A is going to feature two of the in-form teams in the league as Napoli welcome Atalanta at the Stadio San Paolo this Saturday.
The two of them are undefeated so far in this 2020/21 season, and as early as now, they have put the league on notice that they are going to challenge for the Scudetto.
Atalanta are on top of the league table as of the moment with nine points, while Napoli have six after winning in two straight matchdays.
La Dea picked up where they left off when they defeated Torino, Lazio, and Cagliari through their trademark attack and Napoli did the same against their lowly counterparts in Parma and Genoa.
With winning streaks on the line, surely one has to give. So who will be the winner and the loser come this weekend?
As always, SBOTOP is here for the comprehensive preview of this cracker of a match.
Talking Points
Napoli to be tested big time
Napoli have yet to be defeated this season because they haven’t been tested yet.
After defeating Parma and Genoa with an aggregate tally of 8-0, Gennaro Gattuso’s men were supposed to go visit Juventus last week.
However, due to the emergence of several positive cases for COVID-19 in Italian soil, Gli Azzurri decided not to travel to the Allianz Stadium in what was a shocking decision.
While their decision has been under intense scrutiny by the Italian football authorities, Napoli cited safety concerns for their case given their players in Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas were once positive for the coronavirus.
Assuming that all systems will go for this weekend, Napoli will face their first big test when they will deal with the red-hot Atalanta.
Atalanta have been firing at will and they are a fun team to watch this season. The Orobici are primed to give them all they can handle on the defencive end, so it will be interesting to see on how they will respond.
They have the necessary cogs to make life hard for Atalanta as they have a sturdy centre-back pairing of Kostas Manolas and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Dries Mertens, Hirving Lozano, and Lorenzo Insigne would need to be sharp and on target this weekend so that they can cancel out Atalanta’s scoring output.
They could use someone like Arkadiusz Milik to help in that regard, but the disgruntled forward is expected to leave the club in the upcoming January transfer window.
Who can stop Atalanta from scoring?
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side is on fire indeed here in Serie A. They have beaten all challengers so far and they’ve done it with substance and flair.
They have averaged 4.33 goals per contest in their first three games, and they have done it against some of the stronger defences in the league.
After thrashing Torino with a 4-2 score, the Orobici continued to spread their wings by bashing Lazio’s backline led by Francesco Acerbi and Thomas Strakosha in a 4-1 score.
Cagliari, who were being marshalled by Diego Godin, didn’t have any luck either last Sunday as they ended with a 5-2 tally.
Papu Gomez leads Atalanta with goals scored so far this season with four, and he is on his way to surpass his total last season with seven goals in 36 appearances.
Hans Hateboer and Martin de Roon have been a frightening combination at the midfield which should pose major problems for Napoli this weekend.
History
The overall head-to-head matchup between Napoli and Atalanta indicates that this will be great close fixture ahead.
In the 31 matches that they’ve faced each other, Napoli won in 12 games, Atalanta won in 10 along with nine draws.
Last season, Napoli weren’t able to grab a single win in two games. First was a 2-2 draw and then Atalanta beat them off the bounce last July with a 2-0 scoreline.
Napoli have only won once against Atalanta in their last five matches.
Betting Tip
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Napoli vs Atalanta | Over 3.00 @ 1.65 |
| October 17, 21:00 (GMT+8) |
This fixture screams goals all over, so I am recommending you to place your wagers on Over 2.50 @ 1.65.
Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.88 is also a likely possibility while Total Goal 4-6 @ 2.23 seems plausible as well given how these two are playing.
This also figures to be a close match according to our Serie A 2020 odds.
In the Asian Handicap market readings, Napoli are priced to win at home at 2.54, while Atalanta are pegged to win at 2.58 and a draw is at 3.45.
With both teams sharp in the final third, this easily should be the much-awaited tiff in this weekend’s matchday as we will be spoiled by a ton of topnotch Serie A 2020 highlights.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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