ATALANTA v AC MILAN: KEYS TO THE MATCH

Atalanta and AC Milan are two teams with clear tactical systems, something which they’ve continually displayed in the past few seasons. They also did so on the opening day of the season, with La Dea winning 2-0 away to Sampdoria and the Rossoneri beating Udinese 4-2 at home. It meant that Gasperini and Pioli's sides started the campaign in the best possible fashion ahead of today’s big showdown. We’re taking a look at three key aspects that could decide the game.

DEFENDERS GETTING FORWARD AND SET-PIECES
Last season, Atalanta and AC Milan didn't particularly stand out in terms of goals from dead-ball situations: the Rossoneri finished 17th in this regard with 16, while the Orobici came last with nine, five of which were penalties. However, key to the attacking play of Gasperini and Pioli's sides are the runs made by their defenders. As regards Atalanta, you only have to take a look that Tolói's goal against Sampdoria, an example of how La Dea attack with a certain number of players irrespective of their roles on the pitch. Speaking of forward runs by the defenders, AC Milan's full-backs are often seen overlapping, something which Hernández and Calabria did on several occasions against Udinese. Nevertheless, both sides have room for improvement when it comes to attacking corners - AC Milan's central defenders are aiming to be a bit more decisive in the opposition penalty area - and headers. Indeed, the Diavolo scored just five headed goals in 2021/22 (out of a total 69 scored in Serie A, 7%) and Atalanta didn’t fare much better (eight out of 65, 12%).

WIDEMEN FULL OF RUNNING
The two teams' respective formations (3-4-2-1 for Atalanta, 4-2-3-1 for AC Milan) will result in the Nerazzurri's widemen coming into contact with the Rossoneri's full-backs. It's a game where two key individual duels will take place down the flanks. First, we have the battle between Hans Hateboer and Theo Hernández, two high-quality players who know how to leave their mark in both halves of the pitch and who performed really well on matchday one. On the other side of the pitch, in terms of characteristics, a different duel involving Joakim Mæhle and Davide Calabria will play out. One thing that the four players have in common is the amount of running they do and the ease with which they do it. In their respective roles, they all excel in Serie A football in this regard.

ATTACKING OPTIONS OFF THE BENCH
Atalanta and AC Milan are two of the teams with the greatest strength in depth in Serie A, and, in the last few months, both sides have signed several new attacking players who can offer solutions and make an impact off the bench. This is exactly what happened in Atalanta’s last game, with substitute Ademola Lookman bagging in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win in Genoa. As for AC Milan, De Ketelaere and Origi came on against Udinese to make their competitive Rossoneri debuts. We were thus given an idea as to the depth of Pioli's options in attack, further underlined by Giroud replacing Rebić in the closing stages. In a match that could be a highly tactical and balanced affair, being able to count on substitutes could tip the balance one way or another.

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