Bologna vs Atalanta prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-12-22 14:00.
Bologna’s best 16-game start to a top-flight campaign since their last Serie A (SA) title in 1963/64 had perhaps its sweetest win yet at the weekend, when they leapt above José Mourinho’s Roma into fourth place by defeating them 2-0 at home. Head coach Thiago Motta was understandably full of praise for his side, who he claimed “never gave Roma a chance” after they claimed just their fifth half-time lead of this SA season.
Since an opening round loss to league giants AC Milan, Bologna have been nothing short of formidable at home. The Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is where they have picked up each of their last four clean sheets as part of a five-game SA winning streak at home. That defensive prowess has afforded Bologna the ability to take their time when it comes to finding the net, especially in their last three SA home games which all stood goalless after 36 minutes.
Atalanta remain just two points behind Bologna off the back of a pair of high-scoring home wins against AC Milan (3-2) and Salernitana (4-1), the most recent of which was manager Gian Piero Gasperini’s sixth straight win over Salernitana boss Filippo Inzaghi. It put behind them a disastrous four-game setback (D1, L3) that saw them slip from fourth at the start of November to eighth prior to those two wins.
Their campaign will truly be on the mend if they can pick up their first SA win since a trip to Empoli in late October (D1, L1), but the entirety of their away points have been collected against relegation candidates such as Sassuolo (2-0), Empoli (3-0) and Verona (1-0). Against all clubs starting the 17th round ranked 14th or higher, Atalanta have lost all four such SA encounters by an aggregate score of 11-5.
Players to watch: Joshua Zirkzee has collected five goals in Bologna’s last seven SA matches, with all but one coming prior to half-time. It could be Atalanta’s Luis Muriel who follows him in, having scored after the break in each of their last two league outings.
Hot stat: All but one of Bologna’s 16 games this SA season produced fewer than 3.5 total goals.