Serie A: Juventus vs. Atalanta Preview, Odds, Prediction

Juventus and Atalanta highlight the Serie A program on Saturday. The two sides are back following the UEFA Champions League duties and want to take three points which would mean a lot in the Scudetto race. For the moment, both sides are way behind the league leaders Napoli and AC Milan. Juventus has an 11-point deficit, while Atalanta sits seven steps behind the duo. Having in mind that neither of the two teams has the capacity to endure a long and harsh Italian championship, the title race is still not over for the Old Lady and La Dea.

Preview

Juventus (+120) suffered a slap in the face at Stamford, where Chelsea rolled over them, avenging the undeserved loss in Turin. The final result of the game in London was 4-0 for the Blues, which was one of the toughest defeats for Juventus in the past few years.

Following three straight wins, over Zenit, Fiorentina, and Lazio, this was a harsh reality check, but it isn’t a tragedy. The result in London won’t have any implications on Juve’s advance to the next round.

The Old Lady has five wins and one loss in the previous six games at home. Now, we can’t find any notable pattern for efficiency lately because their evens are either high-efficient or with one goal. That inconsistency is yet another proof of Juve’s instability and not so high quality compared to the years before this one.

Atalanta (+320) is without a defat for seven consecutive games. They’ve posted four draws and three wins, which isn’t as impressive when looking at the overall situation.

But unlike Juventus, they are consistent in several aspects of play. Nine out of the previous 10 matches, La Dea, had ended with over 2.5 goals, and all ten were with scores on both ends. Exciting games are a trademark of the Gasperini’s team, and it seems that it won’t change for a long time.

Four of the previous road games were with both teams scoring and with four or more scores, and in all of them, Atalanta netted at least twice.

Latest News

Aaron Ramsey, Danilo, Bernardeschi, Chiellini and de Sciglio are all out for this event.

On the other side, Gosens, Hateboer, and Lovato won’t play for La Dea.

Head to Head Games

The most recent clash between these two rivals was in the Copa Italia finals, when Juve won, 1-2. Previously, the Old Lady couldn’t beat Atalanta in three straight games (1D, 2L)

Prediction

Juventus is on the downhill, and that is nothing new. The Old Lady did have some flashes during this campaign, but when looking at the overall situation, they aren’t convincing at all. Meanwhile, Atalanta isn’t winning in series either, but at least they don’t have some major oscillations in their approach. The attack is the only tactic they recognize, and that is it. That is why we go with over 2.5 goals as the pick for this event, with the current odds sitting at -165. It is quite a solid offer, and we want to use it.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -160