The top 4 chase continues in the Serie A as 3rd placed Inter host 5th placed Atalanta at San Siro this weekend!
Currently looking at the table, this is an important game for both sides. Inter are 3rd on 56 points while Atalanta are 5th on 51 points. Inter could go 8 points clear of 5th with a win, meanwhile Atalanta could move into 4th spot above AC Milan with a win themselves and move within 2 points of Inter with a win here. A lot on the line here for both sides for sure.
Inter and Atalanta have a huge contrast in styles. Whereas Inter are a cautious side with the 2nd best defensive record in the league, Atalanta love to go all out attack as they have the best attacking record in the league while being slightly leaky at the back. It’ll be an interesting tactical battle between the sides for sure.
Looking at current form, Inter have been up and down in 2019 overall, although they have managed to win 2 of their last 3 games which is a slight improvement including bagging an impressive away win at Genoa 0-4 during the midweek fixture which should give them a lot of confidence entering this weekend.
As for Atalanta, they’ve been red hot for weeks now having gone unbeaten in 5 in a row in the league winning 4 of those while scoring 13 goals in these last 5 games entering this weekend. Atalanta are coming off a dominant 4-0 win against Bologna themselves in their most recent league game.
Inter have been relatively solid at San Siro this season with a 9W 2D 3L home record and they have the best defensive record at home (7 goals conceded) in the league. However 2 of those losses came in their last 4 home league games and they have lost their most recent home game to Lazio 0-1 last weekend so there has been a bit of a dip in their home form lately, but despite that it still is one of the toughest places to win at for opponents against Inter and will be a stern test for Atalanta.
Atalanta are a pretty good away side, 4th best in the Serie A with 8 wins from 15 on their travels in the league (3D 5L) and they do have the best goal scoring away record with 35 goals which is more than they’ve scored at home (29), but they’ve also conceded 24 which is 7 more than they have at home (17). Atalanta’s away games tend to be more high scoring in the league. Atalanta have won 2 straight away league games entering this weekend as they beat Sampdoria 1-2 and Parma 1-3 in these games.
The player to watch for Inter of course has to be Mauro Icardi. He’s of course their biggest threat up front and has finally returned into the side having played his first game since February during their midweek fixture against Genoa and he returned with a bang having gotten on the scoresheet once. Icardi is Inter’s top scorer with 16 goals in all comps (10 in the league). He loves a big game performance too so there really isn’t anyone else we can pick other than Icardi as Inter’s biggest threat.
As for Atalanta, with main man Duvan Zapata out, their next most dangerous man to watch has to be Josip Ilicic as he’s been contributing massively for the club this season with 11G 7A in the league and is coming off a good performance against Bologna having scored 2 goals in their last game.
In the reverse fixture, Atalanta surprisingly destroyed Inter 4-1 at home with 3 goals in the final 30 minutes and looking at overall recent H2H it’s been evenly matched as in the past 5 meetings Inter won 2, Atalanta won 2 and the other was a draw.
Inter have however dominated Atalanta at San Siro in recent years having beaten them for 4 consecutive home games including that 7-1 battering in the 16-17 season. Most recent meeting at San Siro was won by Inter 2-0 last season.
Bookies have Inter as the favourites to win this game at 2.08 while Atalanta to win is tipped at 3.45 with Draw offered at 3.55. These teams are evenly matched, but with Inter playing at home it’s understandable why they’re the favourites to win this game having their fans behind them. Odds based on Unibet.
Team News
Inter Milan: Sime Vrsaljko continues to be out while Lautaro Martinez and Stefan de Vrij are doubtful, there hasn’t been an official word whether these two will be able to feature.
Atalanta: star man Duvan Zapata is suspended which is a huge blow for Atalanta. Rafael Toloi has missed the last few games and is likely to be out as well. Otherwise Atalanta have everyone else available.
Betting Stats
Inter have only covered 28.6% of their total goal overs at home in the league this season (4-1-9). That is the worst percentage in the league.
Inter have only covered 14.3% of their 1st half total goal overs at home in the league this season (2-2-10). Also the worst percentage in the league.
Inter average 1.71 bookings per game at home in the league this season (24 bookings in 14 games).
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