Serie A: Atalanta vs. Napoli Preview, Odds, Prediction

The clash between Atalanta and Napoli might be one of the most important for the entire Serie A title race. Maybe even more influential than Juventus vs. Inter Milan matchup. The team from Naples is second in the standings, three points behind AC Milan, while Atalanta sits sixth with 51 points, and with the game in hand. La Dea hopes to reach one of the top four places in the table, which leads to the UEFA Champions League. So, we will have a lot of action at Gewiss Stadium, because both teams need to win.

Preview

Atalanta (+140) didn’t lose in the past four games, recording three wins and one draw. What is highly interesting is that La Dea kept three clean sheets in a row, and we all know that the defense isn’t the primary quality of this unit. Also, those three games were with one or no goals, which is even more surprising.

Gasperini’s team isn’t confident at home as before, but the improvement in their performances and results has been noticeable over the last six weeks. Three wins and two draws aren’t as shiny as we would expect, but on the other hand, it is decent.

Duvan Zapata’s injury disrupted the entire game plan, and without the strong Columbian, La Dea struggles to provide consistency in the attack. Even though they have solid forwards, Zapata’s absence is a major blow.

Napoli (+200) suffered a hard setback against AC Milan early in March, losing at home, 0-1. If it weren’t for that slip, they would hold the top spot now. However, Partenopei recovered quickly, and had two wins in a row with the same result – 2-1, one on the road in Verona and the other at home against Udinese.

Four of the previous five of their events across all the competitions ended with over 2.5 goals and both sides to score. With Victor Osimhen back, everything is much easier for Napoli, because the Nigerian is one of the top five attackers in Europe.

When looking only at the road games, Napoli didn’t lose in the previous nine, and during that stretch, all but one contest ended with 2 or 3 goals, that is moderate efficiency.

Latest News

Cabezas, Toloi and Zapata are out for the hosts, while Josip Ilicic still stands as questionable.

Di Lorenzo, Meret, Petagna, Zielinski are absent for Napoli. Ounas is doubtful and will be a game-time decision.

Head to Head Games

Napoli and Atalanta played in Naples in early December, and the guests from Bergamo won, 2-3. This was the third straight game, fourth in the past five with over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring.

By the way, Atalanta won the past three events at home.

Prediction

Despite seeing both teams having certain problems on the offensive side in their most recent events, we can’t do against our feeling and bet on low efficiency. Every bone in our body feels that we are going to see goals on both ends, and that it will be more than three. The odds on this are superb, +125, and that is something we simply have to take, no matter the risk.

Pick: Both teams to score and Over 2.5 goals