Serie A is again for what guarantees to be a charming Matchday 32, and there are fairly just a few intriguing encounters which might be sure to excite. While Inter Milan’s journey to Como would be the standout fixture from Sunday and one through which loads of eyes from Turin shall be centered on, there’s no query that Saturday’s showpiece occasion shall be Juventus’ go to to Atalanta.
Juventus at the moment sit fifth within the Serie A desk, one level behind Como, six behind Milan, eight behind Napoli, and 15 behind Inter, while in addition they discover themselves stage on 57 factors with Roma after their win over Pisa and 4 above Atalanta. They’ll be trying to make it 4 wins from 5 as they tackle La Dea — who, in contrast to, Juve, are nonetheless alive in cup competitions and can host Lazio later this month within the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal after drawing the primary leg 2-2.
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Which particular person battles will resolve Atalanta vs. Juventus? Let’s have a look.
Kenan Yildiz vs. Giorgio Scalvini
You’d have to return all the best way to Could 7, 2023, for the final time that Juventus beat Atalanta within the league. After drawing the following two, Juve beat them 1-0 within the 2024 Coppa Italia last earlier than drawing 1-1 in Bergamo, adopted by a humiliating 4-0 defeat and a 1-1 stalemate at residence. Atalanta have had the final giggle (to this point) after smothering them in a 3-0 shellacking within the Coppa Italia quarterfinal, establishing a semifinal date with Lazio.
However there’s no less than one main distinction from the 2 sides that confronted off a mere two months in the past: Kenan Yildiz shall be concerned. An unused substitute in opposition to Atalanta in February, Yildiz has the potential to rework Juve’s attacking fortunes and provides them a person dynamism that’s rivaled by few gamers in calcio. Having scored two objectives and two assists in three matches going into the worldwide break, Yildiz then headed off to the World Cup qualifying playoffs and led Turkiye to its first World Cup since 2002.
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Not like Giorgio Scalvini — who was a part of the Italy squad that missed out on World Cup qualification for a 3rd consecutive cycle — Yildiz shall be participating within the greatest competitors within the recreation. However that doesn’t essentially imply that Scalvini gained’t make issues troublesome for the Turkish phenom. The 22-year-old Italian has established himself as a ball-playing defender who additionally isn’t afraid to get caught in and make his presence felt in bodily challenges, and after scoring within the earlier week in opposition to Lecce, he’ll be driving excessive on confidence.
Count on this one to be a pivotal encounter.
Charles De Ketelaere vs. Lloyd Kelly
Between Gian Piero Gasperini transferring to Roma in the summertime and Ademola Lookman transferring to Atlético Madrid within the winter, it has been a season of transition for Atalanta. Nevertheless, La Dea nonetheless discover themselves difficult for European soccer thanks largely to at least one man who has confirmed a constant ray of sunshine in an in any other case turbulent yr: Charles De Ketelaere.
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Having struggled to make his mark at Milan, De Ketelaere has since established himself as an indispensable determine in Atalanta’s assault, able to dropping deep and dragging his man out of place and creating house for a teammate. Whether or not he’s wreaking havoc along with his nifty motion, or organizing assaults along with his sensational passing, or testing the goalkeeper’s resolve with a potent shot, De Ketelaere is an all-rounded participant.
De Ketelaere is considered one of 4 gamers with 20-plus objectives and 20-plus assists within the final 4 Serie A seasons alongside Paulo Dybala, Rafael Leão and Christian Pulisic, having bagged two assists final week, whereas solely Mohamed Salah and Lamine Yamal have created extra large probabilities within the UEFA Champions League than him. If Juve are to cease the Belgian dynamo, they’ll want an enormous efficiency from Lloyd Kelly. The Englishman has taken his recreation up a notch this season and emerged as a dependable presence in protection, however he’s additionally liable to bone-headed errors. If he can keep error-free, Juve would possibly simply be capable of pull off the victory.
Éderson vs. Manuel Locatelli
Atalanta are used to promoting no less than one participant for a blockbuster payment every summer time, and there’s purpose to imagine that Éderson might be their newest money cow. The Brazilian has emerged as an important cog in midfield for Atalanta because of his relentless working, his spectacular ball-carrying abilities, and his grace beneath strain, and Juve are one of many many sides which have put out feelers for him. Nevertheless, in the event that they fail to qualify for the Champions League, it’s seemingly he’ll be out of their worth vary.
Whereas Éderson shall be trying to ship one other spectacular audition for a summer time switch, Manuel Locatelli shall be trying to maintain it down and win the midfield battle. Locatelli has made his title as one of many best midfielders in Serie A, appearing as a tireless ball-winner and persistently discovering teammates in superior positions, and consistently driving the play ahead reasonably than stay static.
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It’s exactly this mixture of defensive grit and elite technical finesse that has seen him earn reward from the likes of and set up himself as a flexible determine within the heart of the pitch, impressing each as a deep-lying playmaker in addition to a high-intensity box-to-box midfielder, and setting the usual for Juventus’ play. Nevertheless, he might very nicely meet his match when he faces off in opposition to Éderson this weekend.
Nikola Krstović vs. Jonathan David
Not like the opposite battles that we’ve talked about, this match-up gained’t essentially be a person 1-v-1 contest, however it may nonetheless show decisive for the end result of the sport. It’s seemingly that this recreation can have few clear-cut alternatives — every of Juve’s final three matches have featured beneath 2.5 objectives, whereas Atalanta have conceded simply 1 objective of their final three league matches mixed.
So, which striker will be capable of take advantage of his probabilities?
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Juventus have overwhelmed Atalanta simply twice because the begin of the 2021-22 season, and each instances, Dušan Vlahović scored the decisive objective. However with Vlahović struggling one other harm setback, the strain will fall to Jonathan David, who has suffered a dismal first season in Italy. After a promising begin to the brand new yr, the Canadian striker’s confidence has plummeted after a run of embarrassing misses in entrance of objective, and time is working out for him to show he’s nonetheless able to making an impression.
However, Atalanta will even be lacking their blockbuster striker, with Gianluca Scamacca unavailable as a result of harm. The onus will as a substitute be on Nikola Krstović to step up the ship the products. Equally to David, Krstović obtained off to a powerful begin in 2026, however in contrast to him, he’s managed to proceed his nice kind with a objective at Inter and at Lecce final weekend. If the Montenegrin can maintain up his finish of the cut price, he would possibly very nicely be capable of energy Atalanta to a different victory in opposition to Juventus.
Predicted XIs
Juventus (4-3-3): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Thuram; Conceição, David, Yildiz
Atalanta (3-4-3): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolašinac; Zappacosta, De Roon, Éderson, Bernasconi; De Ketelaere, Krstović, Zalewski