Atalanta BC will be looking to pick up where they left off in Serie A when they resume their 2019-20 campaign at home to Sassuolo on Sunday night.
La Dea are currently fourth in Italy's top flight and have won their last five matches in all competitions, while Sassuolo occupy 11th spot in the table ahead of the season's restart.
Match preview
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It would perhaps be fair to say that the enforced break in the 2019-20 campaign came at a bad time for Atalanta, who were flying before the action was called to a halt at the start of March.
A run of four wins from five Serie A matches - including scoring seven at both Torino and Lecce - saw Gian Piero Gasperini's side solidify their top-four spot, and they are currently three points clear of fifth-placed Roma.
La Dea also booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on March 10 - eliminating Valencia in the process - and will finish their European campaign in August.
The team's immediate focus is on Italy's top flight, though, and they will be determined to make it four straight league victories when they welcome Sassuolo to the Gewiss Stadium.
Atalanta have performed better on their travels than at home this season, though, with four of their five Serie A defeats during the 2019-20 campaign actually occurring on their home ground.
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Sassuolo, meanwhile, have not been in action since beating Brescia 3-0 on March 9, which was their third league victory in four matches during a strong run of form.
Roberto De Zerbi's side have only lost one of their last six in the league - recording four wins in the process - to leave themselves in 11th position ahead of the restart.
The Black and Greens have been present in Italy's top flight since 2013-14 and are currently seven points clear of the relegation zone, meaning that they are in a strong position to secure another season at this level.
The omens are not terrific for Sassuolo this weekend, though, as they have only won three of their 12 away league fixtures this season, while they have lost their last four Serie A games against Atalanta.
Atalanta Serie A form: LWDWWW
Atalanta form (all competitions): DWWWWW
Sassuolo Serie A form: WDWWLW
Team News
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Atalanta have no fitness or suspension concerns ahead of Sunday's clash, with Berat Djimsiti and Rafael Toloi both returning from injuries over the lockdown period.
There are not expected to be many surprises in the side that takes to the field, with Duvan Zapata expected to be joined by Josip Ilicic in the final third once again.
Alejandro Gomez should continue in the spot behind the front two, while Marten de Roon is likely to return to the middle of the park, having previously filled in at the back.
As for Sassuolo, Alessandro Tripaldelli and Filippo Romagna are both on the sidelines through injury, while Vlad Chiriches is also a doubt for the visitors.
Jeremie Boga and Francesco Caputo scored the goals in Sassuolo's 3-0 win over Brescia last time out, and the pair are again expected to feature in the final third of the field.
Domenico Berardi, who has scored nine times in 20 Serie A appearances this season, will also start for I Neroverdi, who have a lot of talent in forward positions.
Atalanta possible starting lineup:
Gollini; Djimsiti, Caldara, Toloi; Gosens, Freuler, De Roon, Hateboer; Gomez; Ilicic, Zapata
Sassuolo possible starting lineup:
Consigli; Toljan, Santos, Ferrari, Kyriakopoulos; Obiang, Locatelli; Berardi, Djuricic, Boga; Caputo
We say: Atalanta 2-0 Sassuolo
This has all the makings of a very entertaining game. Atalanta are the favourites, but Sassuolo are certainly capable of causing an upset on Sunday night despite being the underdogs. We are not expecting too many goals but fancy Atalanta to secure all three points on their return to action.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atalanta BC win with a probability of 64.04%. A draw had a probability of 19% and a win for Sassuolo had a probability of 16.94%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atalanta BC win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.9%) and 1-0 (7.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.54%), while for a Sassuolo win it was 1-2 (4.67%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Atalanta BC would win this match.
