Atalanta vs AC Milan

Gewiss Stadium is the venue as Atalanta and AC Milan go head-to-head in a tasty-looking Serie A encounter.

Atalanta failed to land a top-four Serie A finish last season, having racked up three third-place finishes on the trot beforehand. A thoroughly underwhelming 2021/22 season has prompted squad changes in Bergamo, with Leicester City loanee Ademola Lookman scoring on his Serie A debut to hand ‘La Dea’ a morale-boosting 2-0 victory at Sampdoria on the opening weekend. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men will be out to win both inaugural matches of a new top-flight season for the fifth time in the club’s history, last pulling off such a feat in 2020/21. However, in order to achieve that, Atalanta will have to defy an underwhelming record in the previous six Serie A games against Milan they’ve played as hosts (W1, D2, L3). Adding to the home side’s worries, they went winless in six consecutive home league outings at the tail-end of last season (D3, L3), scoring one goal or fewer in five.

On the other hand, AC Milan’s title defence is up and running after Stefano Pioli’s side came from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Udinese 4-2 at home on matchday one. After years of continuous struggle against Atalanta, Pioli seems to have found a recipe to handle Gasperini’s team, with ‘I Rossoneri’ winning their last three Serie A H2Hs, including a 3-2 victory in this corresponding fixture in 2021/22. A piece of history is up for grabs as Milan could win four successive top-flight meetings with Atalanta for the first time in the 21st century. The reigning Italian champions carry an eye-catching seven-game winning league streak into this showdown, their longest such run in the competition since 2006.