Atalanta BC will welcome Torino to the Gewiss Stadium for their Serie A encounter on Thursday evening.
The two teams have made identical starts to the new campaign, claiming seven points from their opening three league games.
Match preview
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After playing out a 1-1 draw with Scudetto holders AC Milan, Atalanta returned to winning ways when they secured a slender 1-0 victory away at Hellas Verona last weekend.
Teun Koopmeiners fired in the game's only goal from outside the penalty area five minutes after half time, with the visitors holding on to claim their second successive win on the road this season.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side endured a disappointing second half to last season as they won only five of their last 21 top-flight matches, which ultimately cost them a place in European competition. However, they have since made a promising start to the new campaign and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run on Thursday.
It is fair to say that Atalanta's last two encounters on home soil against Torino have been eventful, as a 3-3 draw in February last year was followed by a 4-4 draw in April – a game which saw La Dea score twice to rescue a point in the final 12 minutes.
Gasperini's men, however, have failed to win any of their last seven Serie A matches at the Gewiss Stadium as well as each of their last four home meetings against Torino.
Victory for Atalanta on Thursday would see them move onto 10 points from their opening four Serie A games for just the third time this century, after previously doing so in both 2000-01 and 2011-12.
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Either side of a goalless draw with Lazio, Torino have claimed maximum points against newly-promoted duo Monza and Cremonese, beating both teams away from home by a 2-1 scoreline.
Summer signing Nikola Vlasic opened his account with a strike against Cremonese last weekend, before fellow new recruit Nemanja Radonjic got his name on the scoresheet in the second half.
Ivan Juric's side – who are one of seven Serie A teams level on points at the top of the table – have now extended their impressive away record in the top flight to seven matches, including four successive victories.
Torino will be looking to extend their winning streak on the road in Serie A to five games for the first time since 1946 when they face Atalanta on Thursday.
However, Il Toro will need to shore up their backline if they are to improve their chances of claiming maximum points, as they have conceded 22 goals in their last six meetings against La Dea, letting in at least two goals on each occasion.
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Team News
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Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a fractured leg, while Jose Luis Palomino is still suspended after failing a doping test.
Danish left wing-back Joakim Maehle, who began as a substitute last weekend, will be hoping to force his way back into the starting lineup ahead of Brandon Soppy, while Hans Hateboer – who has been linked with a move to Nottingham Forest – is set to continue on the opposite flank.
Luis Muriel, Jeremie Boga and Mario Pasalic will all be looking to return to the first XI, but Gasperini may decide to stick with a front three of Ruslan Malinovskyi, Ademola Lookman and Duvan Zapata.
As for Torino, summer signing Aleksei Miranchuk remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, so Vlasic and Radonjic are set to continue in their attacking midfield roles as a result.
Sasa Lukic returned to the substitutes' bench last weekend after serving a suspension, and the midfielder will be hoping to be recalled on Thursday at the expense of either Karol Linetty or Samuele Ricci.
Now that Andrea Belotti has completed his move to Roma, Antonio Sanabria is expected to be a regular starter in attack, although Pietro Pellegri will also be pushing to play as the central striker in Juric's side.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Okoli, Demiral, Toloi; Hateboer, De Roon, Koopmeiners, Maehle; Malinovskyi, Lookman; Zapata
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Schuurs, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Singo, Ricci, Linetty, Aina; Radonjic, Vlasic; Sanabria
We say: Atalanta BC 2-2 Torino
Plenty of goalmouth action is to be expected in this fixture, considering that 35 goals have been scored at an average of 5.8 per game over the last three seasons.
Atalanta will be viewed as the slight favourites on home soil, but the visitors are sure to have their say in the contest and should do enough to claim a hard-fought point on the road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
