Atalanta BC will be aiming to keep their winning run going when they head to European-chasing Cagliari in Sunday evening's Serie A clash.
La Dea have won nine in a row in all competitions, seeing them all but seal fourth place in the Italian top flight, while Cagliari have won two of their last three and are ninth.
Match preview
© Reuters
Europe's great entertainers Atalanta saw off Napoli 2-0 on Thursday to open up a 12-point gap on fifth-placed Roma with nine games left to play.
Another season of Champions League football now looks almost certain, though Gian Piero Gasperini's men are already making their mark in this year's competition.
Atalanta are through to the quarter-finals of UEFA's showpiece competition and will be looking to continue building momentum into August's mini tournament in Portugal.
Finishing above Inter Milan - four points better off heading into the final stretch - is now La Dea's only realistic challenge with a month of the domestic campaign to play.
They have won seven games on the spin in Serie A, four of those coming on their travels - never before have Atalanta won five in a row in their top-flight history.
With 82 goals scored in their first 29 matches, Gasperini's side are also clearly the division's highest-scoring team, 11 of those goals coming in their first four games back.
© Reuters
Sunday's clash at Sardegna Arena is a daunting task for Cagliari, then, as they look to revive their European prospects following a 1-1 draw with Bologna in midweek.
The Islanders are just inside the top half of the division, four points off AC Milan in the final Europa League spot, and they still have the capital club to face.
Despite being held by Bologna on Thursday, seven points from the last nine on offer is more than Cagliari gained in their previous 13 matches.
The three-month hiatus came at the right time for Walter Zenga's charges, then, and they can more than keep their European hopes alive this weekend should they halt Atalanta's run.
Cagliari's Serie A form: LLLWWD
Atalanta's Serie A form: WWWWWW
Atalanta's form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Cagliari are without the suspended Luca Pellegrini after he picked up another yellow card in the draw with Bologna, so Charalampos Lykogiannis is expected to earn a recall.
Fabio Pisacane is one of four players still ruled out through injury for the hosts, meanwhile, limiting Zenga's options somewhat.
Joao Pedro and Giovanni Simeone have struck 27 times between them in Serie A this term and will continue to lead the line here.
Atalanta have no fresh injury concerns on the back of their win against Napoli, but Gasperini may still make a change or two in order to freshen things up.
Hans Hateboer is one of those in contention to come back into the lineup, which may spell bad news for Timothy Castagne.
Amongst opponents he has faced at least 10 times in Serie A, Josip Ilicic has scored the fewest goals against Cagliari - just one goal in 11 games.
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Cragno; Walukiewicz, Ceppitelli, Carboni; Mattiello, Nandez, Nainggolan, Rog, Lykogiannis; Simeone, Pedro
Atalanta possible starting lineup:
Gollini; Toloi, Caldara, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Gosens; Gomez; Zapata, Pasalic
We say: Cagliari 1-3 Atalanta
Cagliari have won four of their last five Serie A matches against Atalanta - including a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture - but the visitors have been in sensational form since the turn of the year and should keep that run going here.
Daniel Lewis
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 71.22%. A draw had a probability of 15.8% and a win for Cagliari had a probability of 12.98%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atalanta BC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.24%) and 1-3 (8.08%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.68%), while for a Cagliari win it was 2-1 (3.65%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Atalanta BC would win this match.
