Atalanta vs Sassuolo prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-10-14 18:45.
Atalanta let slip a 2-0 lead against Udinese to draw 2-2 last weekend, taking the sheen off what is still their first-ever unbeaten nine-game start (W6, D3) to a top-flight campaign. They conceded more than once in a game this season for the first time in that draw, but still boast one of the best defences across Europe’s top-five leagues (five conceded), showing they’re clearly a tough side to play against.
Three of those five conceded goals came at home, where second-placed Atalanta have dropped points in half their league games this season (W2, D2). Their hopes of going temporarily top with a win here are by no means guaranteed then, albeit they couldn’t have chosen a better next opponent. Atalanta have won their last five SA home games against Sassuolo, and have lost just once across the last 16 top-flight H2Hs anywhere (W10, D5), making this an ideal game on paper to propel them to the SA summit.
That lone loss came when these sides last met though, which could give mid-table Sassuolo the confidence they need to be a thorn in Atalanta’s side. Yet, Sassuolo will have to shrug off a 2-1 loss to Inter Milan in their last outing which halted a two-game winning run, a result that made it an even set of results (W3, D3, L3) in their league campaign so far.
Despite that recent loss, Sassuolo bring a three-game unbeaten SA away streak into this game (W1, D2) after landing consecutive away clean sheets ahead of this trip. They could now record three consecutive away SA shutouts for the first time since December 2020 but will have to defy history to do so. Sassuolo haven’t kept a top-flight clean sheet against Atalanta since November 2014, averaging 2.67 goals conceded per game during that time, so stopping their opponents from recording a league-topping win looks a difficult task.
Players to watch: Atalanta have won three of the four SA games that Ademola Lookman has directly contributed to a goal (G3, A1). He scored the match opener in Atalanta’s last two matches, and in a similar fashion, visiting Davide Frattesi opened Sassuolo’s scoring with each of his last three SA strikes.
Hot stat: Atalanta are the only SA side yet to trail at any point this campaign.