Serie A Preview: Samba Destruction :(

By: Marco | October 25th, 2008

This match promises to be an exciting encounter. Milan will be determined not to slip up on the road this time around, having lost the past two seasons when they visited Bergamo to play Atalanta.

Taking those past victories into account, Atalanta will have a high level of confidence in themselves going into this encounter. In their home victory against Milan last season (they also won at the San Siro), they shocked the Rossoneri by obtaining all three points in a 2-1 win, despite their rivals having controlled most of the match.

Atalanta will not sneak up on Milan this time around. The two sides are levelled on thirteen points after seven rounds of the season. In addition, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will have memories of that night last January, when they were undone by two goals which came quickly on the counterattack.

Milan had taken the lead through Gennaro Gattuso after a quarter of an hour and maintained large amounts of possession. However, they did not convert any of this into more goals and were stunned by a quick strike from Antonio Langella just before halftime.

When play resumed after the break, the first half was but a distant memory compared to how the match played out in the second stanza. Rather than sit back and absorb Milan’s advances, Atalanta were now fully into the flow of the match and counterpunched each time Milan took a swing.

With twenty minutes remaining, The Oribici struck the decisive blow, as Fernando Tissone side-footed a one-time shot past Zeljko Kalac in the Milan goal.

And Now…

Moving on to the current campaign, Atalanta have shown that they could very well be contenders for a European spot come season’s end. They have done well to defend their home turf so far by winning all three games in their own backyard so far this term.

They have not fared so well on their travels, with a record of one win, two defeats and a draw, which came last weekend against Chievo in Verona. That match was Atalanta’s to win, but they could not get that second goal after having gone behind and then fought back to level.

As For the Visitors

Milan are surely the favorites in this match, but anyone who has followed the Serie A in recent seasons will be well aware of the Rossoneri’s propensity for dropping points on the road. Far too often, they have controlled possession, had the better of the chances, and come away with only a draw and on some occasions a shocking defeat.

Despite their scoreless draw away to Cagliari three weeks ago, they appear to have rectified this habit of losing points on their travels. Not only have they gone from strength to strength in Serie A play, but they are rolling in the UEFA Cup, and appear to be the favorites to win the competition.

This was evidenced by their 3-1 trouncing of Heerenveen on Thursday in the Netherlands. Filippo Inzaghi scored two goals in his typical close-range fashion while Gennaro Gattuso also chipped in with a strike of his own.

FORM GUIDE

Atalanta

24/09 (Serie A): Atalanta 1-0 Cagliari

28/09 (Serie A): Roma 2-0 Atalanta

01/10 (Coppa Italia): Lazio 2-0 Atalanta

05/10 (Serie A): Atalanta 4-2 Sampdoria

19/10 (Serie A): Chievo 1-1 Atalanta

Milan

28/09 (Serie A): Milan 1-0 Inter

02/10 (UEFA Cup): Zurich 0-1 Milan

05/10 (Serie A): Cagliari 0-0 Milan

19/10 (Serie A): Milan 3-0 Sampdoria

23/10 (UEFA Cup): Heerenveen 1-3 Milan

TEAM NEWS

Atalanta

It was hoped that Christian Vieri would be fit in time for this match, but he is now seriously in doubt. Also, Antonio D’Agostino and Alessio Manzoni will be out for this encounter.

The Oribici have no suspended or cautioned players heading into this fixture and they will have Luca Cigarini return from sanction.

Possible Formation (4-4-1-1): Coppola – Garics, Talamonti, Mandredini, Bellini – Ferreira Pinto, Cigarini, Guarente, Padoin – Doni – Floccari

Milan

It appears as though Alessandro Nesta could finally make his season debut after having suffered from a back problem for quite some time. Andrea Pirlo and Philippe Senderos will not be fit to participate due to injury, and Kakha Kaladze is absent from the defense with a knee ailment.

Milan have no suspended players, while Marek Jankulovski is one yellow card away from a mandatory one-match ban.

Possible Formation (4-3-2-1): Abbiati – Zambrotta, Nesta, Maldini, Jankulovski – Flamini, Seedorf, Ambrosini – Kakà, Ronaldinho – Borriello

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Atalanta

Cristiano Doni usually amps up his game when he plays matches against the big sides, and this just so happens to be one such occasion. Thomas Mandredini has performed well in defense this season, and could be on the verge of a national team call-up.

Milan

Ronaldinho only saw a small amount of time when coming on as a substitute in the UEFA Cup victory against Heerenveen, so he will be fresh. Kakà played well played in that same match, and was himself substituted, so he also should be ready to go. After scoring two goals against Heerenveen, Filippo Inzaghi could be called upon late on if Milan find themselves needing to score.

PREDICTION

Milan come into this match on a hot streak, but Atalanta aren’t looking too shabby either. Whenever these two hook up, you’re sure to see plenty of attacking talent on display, and this match will not be any different. Milan lost to Atalanta twice last season, and cannot allow it to happen for a third-straight time.

Atalanta 1-2 Milan

- Goal.com

I will be vouching for Milan on this one. Kaka, Ronaldhino, Pato and Super Pippo are going to cause some serious problems for the La Dea backs. But if history is anything Atalanta might upset them or tie. Milan has a way of slacking off against smaller sides *cough* remember last season? Empoli? I can keep going *cough* But with the current lineup and form I expect Milano to pull it through. I hope that Atalanta puts up a fight…