The Serie A is back in action with another set of matches this weekend as Atalanta take on Cagliari on Sunday. The two teams have experienced contrasting fortunes this season and will need to step up in this fixture.
Cagliari are in 18th place in the Serie A standings and have struggled to cope with the rigours of the Italian top flight. The away side played out a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina last week and will need a similar performance in this fixture.
Atalanta, on the other hand, are in fourth place in the league table at the moment and have been largely impressive this season. La Dea were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Lazio in their previous game and will need to bounce back this weekend.
Atalanta vs Cagliari Head-to-Head
Atalanta have a good record against Cagliari and have won 16 out of 33 matches played between the two teams. Cagliari have managed 11 victories against Atalanta and can trouble their opponents on Sunday.
The previous meeting between the two teams took place in November last year and ended in a 2-1 victory for Atalanta. Cagliari gave a good account of themselves on the day but will need to be more robust this weekend.
Atalanta form guide in the Serie A: D-D-W-D-L
Cagliari form guide in the Serie A: D-L-W-W-L
Atalanta vs Cagliari Team News
Atalanta
Davide Zappacosta and Rafael Toloi have recovered from their knocks and are available for selection. Aleksey Miranchuk remains injured, however, and has been ruled out of this fixture.
Injured: Aleksey Miranchuk
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Cagliari
Cagliari have a few injuries to account for with Kevin Strootman, Sebastian Walukiewicz, and Nahitan Nandez ruled out at the moment. Keita Balde is currently on international duty and will also be unavailable against Atalanta.
Injured: Nahitan Nandez, Sebastian Walukiewicz, Kevin Strootman
Suspended: Joao Pedro
Unavailable: Gabriele Zappa, Keita Balde, Giorgio Altare
Atalanta vs Cagliari Predicted XI
Atalanta Predicted XI (3-4-3): Juan Musso; Rafael Toloi, Jose Luis Palomino, Merih Demiral; Joakim Maehle, Marten de Roon, Remo Freuler, Giuseppe Pezzella; Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mario Pasalic, Luis Muriel
Cagliari Predicted XI (4-4-2): Boris Radunovic; Andrea Carboni, Luca Ceppitelli, Edoardo Goldaniga, Matteo Lovato; Raoul Bellanova, Alberto Grassi, Dalbert, Razvan Marin; Gaston Pereiro, Leonardo Pavoletti
Atalanta vs Cagliari Prediction
Atalanta can be virtually unstoppable on their day and will look to put a few points between themselves and the chasing pack in the top-four race. La Dea have excellent players in their ranks but have Juventus hot on their heels at the moment.
Cagliari face a relegation battle in the coming months and will need a miracle to take something away from this game. Atalanta are the better team on paper and hold the upper hand this weekend.
Prediction: Atalanta 2-0 Cagliari