Separated by one point and one place in the Serie A standings, top-four contenders Atalanta BC and Bologna will lock horns in Bergamo on Sunday afternoon.
While the hosts have just lost three straight games without scoring, their visitors ended a six-match winning streak by holding high-flying Napoli to a draw last time out.
Match preview
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Following back-to-back defeats against Inter Milan and Fiorentina, which finally ended any slim hopes of claiming a first-ever Italian title, Atalanta's slump continued last weekend, when they were beaten at home by Lazio.
Despite having most of the ball, Gian Piero Gasperini's team could only produce two shots on target, ultimately firing another blank and putting their Champions League qualification in some danger.
The Bergamo club have never suffered four league defeats on the spin throughout Gasperini's long reign, which could soon be coming to its close, based on recent mutterings to the media.
With his future uncertain, Atalanta are the only team inside the top half yet to win at home in 2025, picking up just four points at the Gewiss Stadium. Furthermore, the Nerazzurri could now go five consecutive home games without a goal for the first time ever in Serie A.
Now being closely pursued by Bologna and Juventus - plus both Rome clubs and Fiorentina - in a tight top-four race, La Dea cannot afford many more slip-ups, but they have a challenging run-in ahead.
Without a win in four games against their next visitors - after coming out on top in 13 of the previous 17 - recent precedent suggests they may find it tough to stop the rot this weekend.
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A 1-0 victory in February's Coppa Italia clash means Bologna have now prevailed on their last three visits to Bergamo - a sure sign of the ground made up between the Emilian club and Atalanta of late.
They had previously posted only two wins from 38 attempts to beat the Bergamaschi away from home in Serie A, but Vincenzo Italiano's side are now in great shape to move above La Dea in the table.
Like their hosts, Bologna are again posing a threat to the traditional Italian elite, having put together a sequence of six consecutive wins before frustrating second-placed Napoli on Monday.
Though they trailed at the break, Dan Ndoye's cleverly-taken leveller earned the Rossoblu a draw, while extending their top-flight scoring streak on home turf to 12 games - their best such run since the 1970s.
Since ending his barren spell with a brace against Torino, Ndoye has had a hand in the most Serie A goals of any player (six - five of his own, one assist) and the Swiss winger is one of several forwards thriving under the guidance of Italiano.
Bologna boast the fourth-most prolific attack in the league - in spite of their recent woes, Atalanta sit second - and they last scored as many goals at this stage of a season back in 1966, when they went on to finish runners-up.
Also with one foot in this season's Coppa Italia final, following their first-leg destruction of Empoli in the semis, a bright end to another successful campaign could await.
Team News
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Ahead of their double-header against Bologna and AC Milan, Atalanta have been dealt a big blow, as Charles De Ketelaere has been ruled out for at least two weeks by a thigh injury.
The Belgian has not been involved in any goals across his last 14 league games, while fellow forwards Ademola Lookman and Mateo Retegui - favourite to claim Serie A's Capocannoniere crown - have also gone off the boil.
Once again, La Dea's long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini are joined in the treatment room by Stefan Posch, but Odilon Kossonou and Rafael Toloi are both back in the squad.
While the hosts have been struggling to find their old form up front, Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano can choose from a number of potent attacking options.
Leading the queue, Dan Ndoye has been directly involved in 11 league goals so far, while top scorer Riccardo Orsolini has hit 13 in all competitions; Santiago Castro and Thijs Dallinga will vie for the centre-forward spot.
However, the visitors will be without Lewis Ferguson and first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski, both of whom could be missing for the rest of the month after sustaining injuries on Monday. Furthermore, Davide Calabria is still struggling with an ankle sprain.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; Pasalic, Lookman; Retegui
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Ravaglia; Holm, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Aebischer; Orsolini, Odgaard, Ndoye; Castro
We say: Atalanta BC 1-1 Bologna
While they have the best away record in Serie A, ailing Atalanta are effectively mid-table fodder at home, so they could struggle to stop in-form Bologna.
A low-scoring draw should ensue, replicating the result in September's reverse fixture - and that might allow other teams to overtake both.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
