Atalanta vs AC Milan prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-12-08 17:00.
Only a few weeks back, Atalanta were trailing AC Milan by just three points as they sat fifth in the standings whilst looking determined to fight for the Serie A (SA) top-four this season. Skip forward in time and the difference between both teams has now stretched to nine points as Atalanta lost to Torino 3-0 on Monday courtesy of two goals from their ex striker DuvĂĄn Zapata, with coach Gian Piero Gasperini questioning some playersâ âparticipation and team spiritâ in the aftermath.
Their situation on that occasion was certainly not helped by the fact that another defender in Berat Djimsiti left the game early due to an injury, which in turn extended their already overcrowded list of unavailable defencemen ahead of this outing. That will put coach Gasperini under even more pressure as he looks to snap his sideâs record of winning just one of the last seven home SA H2Hs (D3, L3), especially after he made comments about the clubâs board and whether their âvisionsâ still align.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has been the main character in their latest upturn in league form. After literally using his face to save his side in their 1-0 victory over Fiorentina two weekends ago, he also provided a perfect assist for what turned out to be a winning goal in their last match against Frosinone – a result which saw Stefano Pioliâs side end the last round five points ahead of fourth spot in the standings.
Similarly to his opposite number, Pioli needs to deal with a long list of absentees here, but he can at least welcome back veteran striker Olivier Giroud after he served a two-game ban. His presence may come in handy for Milan, as the team havenât lost in his last 12 goalscoring games and five of his eight goals this season have come on the road.
Players to watch: With top-scorer Gianluca Scamacca injured, Atalanta will look to Ademola Lookman to fill the void in this clash and he could strike late as six of his last seven league goals have come after the break. After 189 days of waiting, Luka JoviÄ finally found the back of the net in SA with his first goal for Milan last time out.
Hot stat: Milan have opened the scoring in ten of their 14 SA matches this term (W8, D2).