Still in the hunt for two trophies this season, Atalanta BC will aim to keep the pressure on Serie A's top five when they visit relegated Salernitana on Monday.
The Bergamo club are within touching distance of the Europa League final and will take part in this term's Coppa Italia decider, but they also seek a return to Europe's top table.
Match preview
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Though Gianluca Scamacca stunned Stade Velodrome with an 11th-minute opener, Atalanta ultimately had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Marseille on Thursday night.
With the tie delicately poised, the prize of playing either Roma or new German champions Bayer Leverkusen in the final remains up for grabs, and Gian Piero Gasperini's side are well-placed to claim some major silverware for the first time since 1963.
Atalanta will soon attempt to repeat that fabled Coppa Italia success, as they meet Juventus in Rome later this month, but first their focus must shift back to Serie A, where they are in a three-horse race for Italy's fifth and final Champions League place.
Sixth in the table with five games remaining, the Bergamaschi beat Empoli 2-0 last weekend, thanks to goals from Mario Pasalic and in-form forward Ademola Lookman, and they sit between the two Rome clubs - both of whom have played two games more.
With Lookman and Scamacca both enjoying their most productive spells of the season, Gasperini can be confident that the next few weeks will see his side succeed on all three fronts, but a below-par away record still threatens to derail La Dea's dreams of glory.
Though they overcame Monza in their most recent Serie A away game, Atalanta are yet to win back-to-back league fixtures on their travels this season - surely a trip down to Salerno presents a perfect chance to put that right.
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While Salernitana have lost only three of their seven top-flight meetings with Atalanta to date, Monday's visitors did deal out the Campanian club's joint-biggest Serie A defeat: an 8-2 thrashing in January of last year.
Given both sides' current form, fans of the Granata may be fearing a similar result this time around, as their team are yet to win a single match in 2024; furthermore, they have scored only 11 goals and conceded 37.
Their last victory dates back to the final fixture of 2023, when they were still managed by Filippo Inzaghi, but two managers later they are the only club throughout Europe's top five leagues waiting to taste success this calendar year.
Officially relegated after a 3-0 defeat to Frosinone last time out, Salernitana are only the sixth team in Serie A history to have recorded 15 or points or fewer after 34 matches of a season, so pride is all they have left to play for over the closing weeks of a dismal campaign.
Current coach Stefano Colantuono had his hand on the tiller as the Salerno club went down, but their demotion has been inevitable for some time now - and with Juventus and AC Milan to follow Atalanta during the final four games of the season, his task will not get any easier.
Team News
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After Sead Kolasinac picked up a thigh strain in Marseille, Atalanta will make one enforced change to their lineup at Stadio Arechi, and Gian Piero Gasperini is also expected to rotate his resources.
Emil Holm (calf) and club captain Rafael Toloi (flexor) are both set to miss out too, but Swedish centre-back Isak Hien returns from a European ban and should replace Kolasinac.
In addition to his recent exploits in Europe and the Coppa Italia, Gianluca Scamacca has scored in his last three league appearances and will now aim to find the net in four straight Serie A matches for the very first time.
The Italy striker also needs one more goal to hit double figures in the top flight this season, but he must battle it out for selection with Charles De Ketelaere, Ademola Lookman and El Bilal Toure.
Although Salernitana's Antonio Candreva served his one-match ban against Frosinone, the veteran winger has been ruled out by injury so must wait another week to surpass 500 Serie A matches and move 17th in the league's all-time appearance list.
Niccolo Pierozzi must now sit out due to suspension, while Giulio Maggiore, Grigoris Kastanos, Norbert Gyomber and Jerome Boateng are all sidelined by injury.
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is also unavailable, so Benoit Costil continues to deputise as the hosts' last line of defence.
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Costil; Manolas, Fazio, Pirola; Sambia, Coulibaly, Basic, Bradaric; Vignato, Tchaouna; Ikwuemesi
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Adopo, Bakker; Miranchuk, Lookman; Toure
We say: Salernitana 1-3 Atalanta BC
Atalanta are hitting peak form as a long season nears its end, and even if they field a less familiar starting XI, the visitors are likely to leave Stadio Arechi victorious. Salernitana are Serie B-bound, and they may struggle to get any more points on the board.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
