Atalanta v Inter Match Result
There are three teams challenging for the Serie A title this season. Inter are odds-on favourites and they’re in the box seat right now, commanding a one-point lead over Napoli and they also have a superior goal difference. They are a further two points better off than Atalanta, with a victory at the Gewiss Stadium certainly giving them a platform to be crowned champions again.
However, they are regarded as slight outsiders by the Italian football betting sites when it comes to this weekend encounter. They have stumbled six times on the road to the extent where they have suffered four draws along with two defeats. Recent results have been encouraging including a 2-0 Champions League win at Feyenoord which should mean that Tuesday’s second leg at the San Siro should be plain sailing.
There was a 3-2 victory over Monza to boost their title claim with the team coming from two goals down to secure three valuable points, although Atalanta might draw confidence from the way in which their opponents were able to storm into a lead and La Dea certainly have the tools to cause problems.
The home side had a recent statement victory when securing a 4-0 triumph at Juventus which gives them a platform to go up against Inter, with the team also putting Empoli to the sword when landing a 5-0 victory although in between those two games came a goalless draw against Venezia, with the team able to focus solely on domestic matters.
The draw is a result that would suit Inter best and they certainly won’t regard their opponents lightly, with the same team drawing 1-1 at Napoli and a point gained here would enable them to move forward and potentially go on a title charge. They are now unbeaten in five games since that defeat away to Juventus.
Goals Under/Over
According to the Serie A betting sites, there’s nothing between the Over or Under option when it comes to the 2.5 goals line. When Inter go on the road, the Milan side are defensively robust and just eleven have been conceded on the fourteen away trips. On the flip side, the Italian champions have scored thirty-one times on the road and certainly carry the attacking threat.
Atalanta are fairly free-scoring at home considering they have twenty-nine goals in the space of thirteen clashed at the Gewiss Stadium. They also concede an average of more than one goal per home clash, with La Dea having been handed a football lesson at the San Siro back in August when being thrashed 4-0 and there was no coming back from going down 2-0 early in the game.
What’s even tougher to work out is that the last two Atalanta home matches have ended in goalless draws, although their previous two away games have seen them score a nine combined goals at Empoli and Juventus.
BTTS
The BTTS Yes outcome has a 59% chance of happening in this potential Serie A title decider according to the bookies. However, the previous five Atalanta clashes in the Italian top flight have had a BTTS No result. Scoring goals has actually been an issue on home soil, with Cagliari and Venezia somehow managing to achieve shutouts and there were only two shots on target from La Dea in the former clash.
Against the latter opponents, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side only registered three shots on target, although they can ill-afford to draw a blank against Inter considering the state of play at the top of the table. Mateo Retegui is the division’s top scorer and could potentially help Atalanta get among the goals here.
Inter’s recent matches have been a combination of BTTS Yes and BTTS No, with that 3-2 success over Monza something of an outlier, although they did have nine shots on target compared to their opponents’ four which enabled them to come through in the end. Previously to that, BTTS No happened in four of the previous five clashes in all competitions.
First Goalscorer
Goalscorers don’t tend to surpass the twenty-goal mark in Serie A, although Mateo Retegui has twenty-two to his name and the Italian scored an astonishing four goals away to Verona. More recently, the same player was able to find the net away to Empoli and Juventus, with the 25-year-old surely the most likely from the home side to find the net based on his exploits so far.
Ademola Lookman is also having another great season, with the Nigerian having six goals in his previous seven encounters and he might be coming to form at exactly the right time, with the 27-year-old potentially hitting his peak and the forward could cause plenty of problems for an Inter defence who are probably the stoutest in the division.
Marcus Thuram is coming back for the champions and the Frenchman might earn a start in this clash, with the player looking to build on his thirteen Serie A goals for the season. However, it was Marko Arnautovic who was able to score the first goal against Monza, with Hakan Calhanoglu also carrying a goal threat from attacking midfield.