Both enjoying brilliant unbeaten streaks, Lombardy rivals Atalanta BC and AC Milan will clash under the Friday night lights in Bergamo.
Eight straight Serie A wins have taken La Dea into Scudetto contention, while are Milan nine points adrift of their neighbours with one game in hand.
Match preview
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Not only did Atalanta's recent defeat of Roma keep them within a point of the Serie A summit, but posting an eighth consecutive victory also put the Bergamaschi within one win of matching a club-record streak of nine set back in 2020.
Captain Marten De Roon and ex-Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo were on target at Stadio Olimpico earlier this week, as a remarkable start to the 2024-25 campaign continued.
Atalanta have accrued more than 30 points after 14 top-flight games for the very first time, freely finding the net along the way - they are five goals clear at the top of the scoring charts.
Indeed, Gian Piero Gasperini's side have notched at least twice in each of their last 11 league fixtures at the Gewiss Stadium, ahead of a huge home meeting with Milan.
A player they snared from their Rossoneri rivals, Charles De Ketelaere, played a part in five goals during last week's 6-1 thrashing of Young Boys in the Champions League; and following their Europa League triumph last term, the Nerazzurri remain undefeated in Europe this season.
Occupying one of eight automatic qualifying spots for the Champions League's last 16 - and sitting two points above Milan - Atalanta are flying on all fronts.
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While Atalanta won the most recent encounter in Bergamo - a 3-2 victory almost exactly one year ago - and then prevailed in a Coppa Italia tie at San Siro, Milan have won four of the clubs' last eight contests in Serie A.
However, the Rossoneri go into this match looking up at their regional rivals in the standings, as they lie seventh after an inconsistent start to the season.
Recently, Paulo Fonseca's side seem to have stepped up a gear - with belief bolstered by downing Real Madrid at the Bernabeu - and posting a third Champions League win on the spin moved Milan five points clear of the elimination zone last week.
Meanwhile, in the Italian top flight, a Tijjani Reijnders brace helped see off Empoli last weekend, when a 3-0 victory took their tally of clean sheets up to six from their last 10 league fixtures.
Then, on Tuesday night, Milan ran riot in the first half of a Coppa Italia clash against Serie B leaders Sassuolo, with a superb Reijnders strike being the pick of four goals within 23 minutes of kickoff - they went on to win 6-1 and book a place in the quarter-finals.
Away from their headquarters, though, the second-city club have won just two of six league games this season, so extending their success streak past Friday may prove a tall task.
Team News
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Gian Piero Gasperini - who must serve the second game of a touchline ban - will be missing from the home dugout on Friday evening, but most of his squad are available to choose from.
Gianluca Scamacca is still on the road back to fitness following a serious knee injury, while wing-backs Juan Cuadrado and Davide Zappacosta are also ruled out.
Atalanta's top scorer Mateo Retegui - who leads the Capocannoniere rankings by three goals from his nearest challengers - may start on the bench, as Ademola Lookman and ex-Milan man Charles De Ketelaere join forces in the final third.
In fact this game brings together the four Serie A players with most goal involvements across all competitions in 2024: De Ketelaere (30), Lookman (30), plus Milan pair Rafael Leao (28) and Christian Pulisic (27).
All three of Leao's league goals this season have come away from home, and he is set to link up with Pulisic and Samu Chukwueze - who scored twice on Tuesday - in support of the Rossoneri's sole striker. Tammy Abraham started against Sassuolo, but Alvaro Morata may be brought back in to face La Dea.
Having made a number of changes in midweek, Paulo Fonseca will revert to his strongest lineup: only Ismael Bennacer, Alessandro Florenzi and Luka Jovic are unavailable, as France internationals Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez are both back in training.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Lookman
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Musah, Pulisic, Leao; Morata
We say: Atalanta BC 1-1 AC Milan
All the pressure is on Milan, as defeat would leave them with an enormous mountain to climb in order to get back into the Scudetto race.
The Rossoneri have shown signs of improvement, though, and they may now be able to stop Atalanta from reaching top spot.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
