ATALANTA v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

The second match day of the league and Stefano Pioli's team already have their first big game of the season. On Sunday evening the Gewiss stadium plays host to Atalanta-Milan: a match that, especially in recent seasons, has always provide excitement, significance and drama. After beating Sampdoria 2-0 away from home in the opening match, their game against AC Milan will be this season’s Serie A home debut for Gian Piero Gasperini's Nerazzurri, a fixture they have lost just once in the last 4 seasons (2-3 loss against Torino in September 2019).

The last two seasons have yielded a 5-2 victory against Cagliari in October 2020 and a 0-0 stalemate against Bologna last season. Generally speaking, Atalanta are going through a period of readjustment both on and off the pitch and this is reflected by their poor results with just 2 wins in their last 6 Serie A fixtures and a generally disappointing record in 2022, especially at home. In fact, Atalanta have recorded just one league win at home this entire calendar year (a 4-0  victory against Sampdoria on 28 February) which is fewer than any other team (bar Empoli) and they have picked up just three points in their last six outings at Bergamo.

ATALANTA'S PRESSING REMAINS DEADLY
Gian Piero Gasperini's squad may undergo changes in personnel but the tactical concepts imposed by the Nerazzurri’s coach do not. The diktat is always the same: the Dea defends by attacking and bringing their defensive pressure all the way up to the edge of the oppositions area. This Serie A began as it had ended last season, statistically speaking, with Atalanta dominant in ball recovery, but above all, able to frequently break down their opponents' attacks less than 40 metres from their goal.

There have already been 20 high interceptions in the league this season, more than twice as many as Pioli's Milan, for example. Finally, the Rossoneri will constantly have to watch out for Atalanta's wingers and their integration of defenders who have already proved themselves lethal through goals from Toloi and Lookman in their opening match. The Dea will maintain a high press: recovering the ball and rushing vertically. Therefore, the possession management of the Rossoneri will have to be decisive.

MURIEL AND ZAPATA ARE LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION, WATCH OUT FOR LOOKMAN TOO
Their names alone instil fear. Atalanta's two Colombian strikers, Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata both drew blanks in their opening league game against Sampdoria. This may be a novelty for Muriel, one of the players with the most goals (10) in their first league game of the season in recent years, but for Duvan, his goal draught is reaching a concerning length of matches. Zapata has scored just one goal in his last thirteen Serie A appearances, just like at the start of his Atalanta career in 2016 when he finally got past 4 he never stopped. Gasperini's centre-forward knows how to hurt Milan in the league, having scored against them five times. He will, no doubt, be a difficult opponent to contain. for Pioli's centre-backs.

As for Muriel, the Atalanta coach will expect a response on the pitch after a summer without a move for such a highly sought player. In the first match at the Ferraris, Luis was often out of the game, struggling both to shoot and to create chances for his team-mates: he touched the ball just nineteen times in over an hour on the pitch before being substituted for Lookman, the immediate protagonist with a goal ruled out and one given soon after in the 2-0 win. Here, the Nigerian has proved to be a very useful addition to the side as the game goes on, due to his lethal acceleration shown in the final counter-attacks. It is the Nerazzurri bench that could prove to be most threatening for Pioli's team, who will have to be good and careful to manage the Dea's sudden changes of pace.