Serie A: Roma Aim to Draw Level with Atalanta in Top-5 Race

AS Roma vs Atalanta

Roma and Atalanta are two of a handful of clubs in the race for a European spot in Serie A. Atalanta are currently in fifth place, three points ahead of Roma, but still have one game in hand.

The Giallorossi can close the gap and draw level with Atalanta if they defeat La Dea in their upcoming matchup at the Stadio Olimpico.

But the Serie A 2022 betting odds will be tight as Atalanta have been impressive away from home and are finally starting to pick up some form after some recent setbacks.

Talking Points

Roma remain unconvincing

After recent Serie A 2022 results saw them draw their last three league games in a row, Roma finally got back on track with a 1-0 win over Spezia over the weekend. That win has pushed Roma’s current unbeaten run in the league to six games (three wins, three draws). Although, they were dumped out of the Coppa Italia by Inter during that stretch.

With Jose Mourinho serving the first of a two-game touchline ban after getting sent off against Verona, Roma absolutely pummeled the Spezia goal as they got 31 shots away. But despite that dominance, they still needed a 99th-minute Tammy Abraham penalty to beat a Spezia side that had gone down to 10 men for half the match.

Roma have had to come back in their other two recent draws. Bryan Cristante also popped up with a late stoppage-time equaliser against Sassuolo, while they needed to come back from two goals down at home to pick up a point against Verona.

Abraham remains in terrific form for Roma. His goal against Spezia now puts him at 12 goals in 26 Serie A appearances and 19 goals overall this season.

The Romans also have their full complement of attackers healthy, with captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolo Zaniolo, Eldor Shomurodov, and Stephan El Shaarawy all available. Pellegrini is finally getting back to form after his recent injury.

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho has also called upon teenagers Cristian Volpato and Edoardo Bove, who both scored in the comeback against Verona.

However, Mourinho – who will once again be absent due to his ban – has still been unable to solidify the defence. That’s been especially true in the big games against top sides this season.

Atalanta’s prolific attack returning to form

Atalanta seem to be turning the corner after a rough run of results that saw them claim just one win in seven games in all competitions, with three defeats. After thumping Olympiacos 3-0 to advance to the Europa League round of 16, Atalanta smashed Sampdoria 4-0 in the league.

That’s the first time Atalanta have scored three or more goals in back-to-back games since beating Venezia (4-0) and Napoli (2-3) in late November and early December.

Amid the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, it’s been the friendly duo of Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovskyi and Russian Aleksey Miranchuk that has starred for Atalanta. Malinovskyi bagged a brace against Olympiacos and is now up to nine goals this season. Meanwhile, Miranchuk had a goal and an assist after coming on as a substitute against Samp.

Atalanta have been without Colombian strikers Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel for the last few games due to injury. As a result, coach Gian Piero Gasperini was forced to start Mario Pasalic as a centre-forward, and the Croatian could keep that role after scoring an early goal.

And on the other end of the pitch, Atalanta should have defenders Berat Djimsiti and Merih Demiral back available after they both served out their respective suspensions.

Atalanta have a terrific away record this Serie A season with nine wins in 13 games. However, they are winless and scoreless in their last two and suffered their first defeat to Fiorentina last time out.

 

History

Roma have a 12-8 edge over Atalanta in terms of wins over their last 27 league meetings, while there have been seven draws.

Although, Atalanta have had the advantage in recent years. For a stretch of 13 games that lasted six years (2015-21), Atalanta lost to Roma just once while winning six times.

But Roma finally ended Atalanta’s long run of dominance by beating them 4-1 away in their first meeting this season. That result ended Atalanta’s impressive six-game winning streak (and 10-game unbeaten run) in Serie A.

Betting Tip

Roma are only slightly favoured by SBOTOP odds at 2.64 to win at home. Atalanta are at 2.68, while a draw is priced at 3.15. Those odds aren’t all that surprising considering how evenly matched the two sides are.

Neither side is in particularly impressive form at the moment, and both have drawn quite a good number of games. Therefore, it also won’t be too surprising if the two play out another stalemate, especially since the stakes in terms of the top-five race are so high.

 

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