Cremonese vs Atalanta prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-03-31 13:00.
Not many will fault Cremonese for casting one eye on the upcoming Coppa Italia semi-final first leg against Fiorentina, only their second such appearance in the club’s history. Davide Ballardini’s side still has a mountain to climb in Serie A (SA) where they spent the international break bottom of the points table and 11 points adrift of safety. Yet, five points from their last five SA games (W1, D2, L2) after just one point from eight prior games indicates that the positive effects of their cup run are perhaps trickling to their league performances.
Their lone league win this season came at home, but as it was surrounded by five other defeats in this calendar year, the positive effects of playing at Stadio Giovani Zini are yet to come to the fore. Atalanta may not be the worst opponent in that aspect though, as the hosts have lost only once in SA home H2Hs (W1, D3).
The visitors are in the midst of a tight battle for a top-four finish and went into the international break on a high, defeating Empoli 2-1 to snap a four-game winless run (D1, L3). It was also a milestone moment for manager Gian Piero Gasperini who has now accumulated 800+ SA points, becoming the fourth manager since 1994/95 to do so. Little wonder then that Gasperini was reportedly suggested by Atlético Madrid directors as a replacement for Diego Simeone.
Atalanta may have the third-best away league points tally (24) this season but recent road form doesn’t vouch for that. They lost four of their last five away matches in all competitions (W1) including consecutive 2-0 losses in the league, putting them at risk of losing three SA road trips in a row for the first time since November 2017.
Players to watch: Charles Pickel has often left Cremonese in a pickle with his penchant for aggression having picked up a team-high eight yellow cards this league campaign, including in the reverse fixture. This could boost Ademola Lookman’s hope for a late impact as he has scored Atalanta’s last goal in seven of his ten league scoring appearances.
Hot stat: Cremonese and Atalanta were level at half-time in ten of their 15 league H2Hs.