Having ended a long run without a win or a goal just before the international break, Atalanta BC resume their Serie A campaign on Saturday, away to rock-bottom Cremonese.
While the Bergamaschi remain contenders for a top-four finish despite losing five of their last eight games, their hosts from nearby Cremona are surely bound for a swift return to the second tier.
Match preview
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To the great relief of coach Gian Piero Gasperini, his team's final fixture before international football intervened brought not only a goal to halt Atalanta's five-hour drought but also a late winner to keep them four points clear of sixth-placed Juventus.
Ahead of his prolific exploits for Denmark in Euro 2024 qualifying, rookie forward Rasmus Hojlund popped up with an 86th-minute strike against Empoli and earned La Dea a much-needed 2-1 victory.
Quelling the club's worst barren run in front of goal for five years allowed Atalanta's international contingent to depart with a spring in their step, and they now reconvene to start the Serie A run-in on the first day of April.
After sitting as high as second before the World Cup, the Nerazzurri have slipped down the standings, and a similar collapse to that of last season - when they ultimately finished eighth and missed out on Europe altogether - seemed to be on the cards.
However, Gasperini's men are still only six points adrift of fourth-placed Milan, who occupy the last Champions League spot, so there remains all to play for between now and the close of play in June.
While only two teams have tallied more away points so far - Atalanta have actually fared better outside of Bergamo this term - they have lost both of their last two games on the road: versus regional rivals Milan and runaway leaders Napoli.
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Before their fellow Lombardy side arrive at Stadio Giovanni Zini on Saturday, Cremonese have posted the fewest home points of any Serie A side this season - just six from 13 matches.
In all, the Grigiorossi still have just one victory on the board after entering the international period on the back of a home loss to Fiorentina and a subsequent 1-1 draw at Monza.
Daniel Ciofani rescued a point on the latter occasion, and four of the striker's five league goals this season have now come as a substitute; in fact, no player has scored more times after leaving the bench throughout Europe's top five leagues.
Cremonese will soon contest a two-legged Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina, after upsetting both Napoli and Roma in earlier rounds, but it may take a minor miracle to stay afloat in Serie A: only Udinese have drawn more games than Davide Ballardini's side (10), hampering efforts to rebound from a slow start to their comeback campaign.
One of 13 points to date came at the Gewiss Stadium in September, when Emanuele Valeri's equaliser restricted Atalanta to a draw. As the Cremona club have now gone unbeaten in their last six Serie A meetings with La Dea - since a 2-1 defeat back in 1991 - they at least have history on their side this weekend.
Team News
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In addition to long-term absentee Hans Hateboer, whose fellow Dutchman Teun Koopmeiners may also miss out on Saturday, Berat Djimsiti is also unavailable for Atalanta due to injury.
While the visitors' back line may therefore remain unchanged, Gian Piero Gasperini will be tempted to make a couple of switches up front: Colombian duo Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel started the win over Empoli, but Ademola Lookman and Rasmus Hojlund have generally proved a more productive pairing.
In the last 50 years, only one previous Atalanta player aged under 21 has scored at least seven goals in a Serie A season, and Hojlund (seven) is now chasing down Domenico Morfeo (11 during the 1995-96 campaign) in that regard.
Meanwhile, Cremonese's absentees include defensive duo Vlad Chiriches and Alex Ferrari, while Davide Ballardini has doubts about the fitness of top scorer David Okereke, who has found the net seven times in all competitions.
With the latter potentially ruled out, French forward Frank Tsadjout is expected to partner Cyriel Dessers in attack, though regular 'supersub' Daniel Ciofani is also in contention.
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Bianchetti, Vasquez, Aiwu; Sernicola, Benassi, Pickel, Meite, Valeri; Tsadjout, Dessers
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Toloi, Palomino, Scalvini; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Maehle; Pasalic; Hojlund, Lookman
We say: Cremonese 1-2 Atalanta BC
Likely to throw caution to the wind, with time running out to pull off a miraculous escape, Cremonese could be caught out by an Atalanta side that has not always been fluent this term but still boast several attacking threats: the visitors have registered 18 different scorers so far, and no team across Europe's top five leagues has more.
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