Serie A: Roma Out to End Atalanta’s Amazing Winning Run

Atalanta vs AS Roma

Atalanta and AS Roma are set to collide at the Gewiss Stadium in one of the most anticipated matchups of Serie A Matchday 18.

Atalanta have been flying in Serie A over the last few months, with six straight wins seeing them rocket up to third in the table.

The Serie A 2021 betting odds have them favoured to pick up their seventh in a row this weekend. But they must be careful against Jose Mourinho’s sixth-placed Roma, who are getting back on the right track after successive league defeats.

Talking Points

Atalanta gunning for seventh straight win

Atalanta’s Serie A 2021 results over the last few months have been absolutely fantastic. Since their 3-2 home defeat to Milan in early October, they have gone unbeaten in their last 10 league matches, with eight wins and two draws.

La Dea are currently on a six-game winning streak, which includes home thumpings of relegation strugglers Spezia (5-2) and Venezia (4-0) as well as away triumphs over Juventus (0-1) and Napoli (2-3).

Atalanta crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage after their shock 3-2 defeat at home to Villarreal, but they bounced back from that disappointment by coming from behind to beat Verona 2-1 away last weekend.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has more or less a full squad to choose from again, with wing-back Robin Gosens the only notable absentee.

Gasperini rotated his squad against Verona, with Guiseppe Pezzella and Aleksey Miranchuk both handed rare starts. The two made the most of their opportunity by combining for their first goal.

However, the likes of Duvan Zapata and Joakim Maehle are likely to return to the starting line-up for the big matchup against Roma. Zapata, who came on as a substitute against Verona, had recorded four goals and two assists in his previous five games.

Zapata will look to continue that fine form and improve Atalanta’s surprisingly poor home record this season. They have won just four of their 11 games at the Gewiss in all competitions, with four draws and three defeats.

Roma get back on track

Roma got a much-needed 2-0 win over Spezia last time out thanks to goals from centre-backs Chris Smalling and Ibanez. The win snapped the Giallorossi’s two-game losing skid in Serie A after defeats to Bologna and Inter at home.

The pressure was beginning to mount on Mourinho, who proceeded to make some Mourinho-esque comments to the press after their humiliating defeat to Inter. But wins over CSKA Sofia in the Conference League and against Spezia should help lift the team’s morale ahead of the Atalanta clash.

Roma will have both defender Gianluca Mancini and midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo back available after they served out their one-match suspensions. Mancini made 41 league appearances in two seasons with Atalanta before joining Roma in 2019.

Meanwhile, Tammy Abraham, who just served out his own suspension, is in terrific form at the moment. The English striker has scored five goals in his last five appearances for Roma, including two braces in the Conference League. He didn’t score against Spezia, but he did hit the woodwork and got an assist for Smalling’s opening goal.

But Abraham and Roma must find a way to significantly improve their away record. They have lost five of their eight away fixtures in Serie A this season.

History

Atalanta and Roma have been quite evenly matched in Serie A. In their last 27 meetings, Roma hold a slight 11-9 edge in terms of wins, while they have drawn seven times.

However, Atalanta have had the upper hand in this rivalry over the last few years. They have gone unbeaten in their last seven Serie A matches against Roma, with four wins and three draws.

La Dea demolished Roma 4-1 in this fixture last season. After Edin Dzeko gave Roma a very early lead, Atalanta stormed back with four goals in the last half an hour to stun the Giallorossi.

The two sides then played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at the Stadio Olimpico. Ruslan Malinovskyi had given Atalanta the lead, but Roma equalised six minutes after Atalanta went down to ten men because of Robin Gosens’ sending off.

Betting Tip 

	Atalanta vs AS Roma	1X2 Atalanta @ 1.74
	December 18, 22:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Atalanta installed as 1.74 favourites to score their seventh straight win over Roma, who are priced at 4.70 to snatch a key away win. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.55.

While Atalanta have been far from a sure thing at home this season, it’s hard to ignore that they are playing much better football compared to Roma, who have also had their problems on the road.

Mourinho will likely do what he often does in big games and try to nullify his opponent’s attack. But that has worked less and less in the past few years, and Atalanta should find a way past the Giallorossi defence en route to their seventh straight win.

 

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