Atalanta BC will be looking to reclaim second position from Inter Milan in Italy's top flight when they face Parma in the penultimate game of their 2019-20 Serie A campaign on Tuesday night.
La Dea dropped to third on Saturday courtesy of Inter's 3-0 victory at Genoa, while Parma currently sit 10th in the table, just two points off the top eight.
Match preview
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Parma have won 13, drawn seven and lost 16 of their 36 Serie A matches this season, picking up 46 points in the process to occupy 10th spot in the table as they bid to secure a top-half finish.
The Crusaders finished 14th last season on their return to the top flight but look set to improve this term, with the club potentially eyeing their highest spot in Serie A since claiming sixth in 2013-14.
Indeed, Roberto D'Aversa's side are only two points off eighth-placed Sassuolo on the same number of matches and will enter Tuesday's clash off the back of two impressive results.
Parma beat Napoli on Wednesday before overcoming Brescia on Saturday, but they suffered a 5-0 defeat when they travelled to Atalanta for the reverse match back in January.
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Atalanta, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's clash off the back of a 1-1 draw away to AC Milan on Thursday night. La Dea are unbeaten in Serie A since January 20 but could see their hopes of winning the title come to an end before they take to the field for this particular match.
Indeed, Juventus would win the title with a victory over Sampdoria on Sunday night, placing Atalanta in a battle with Inter and Lazio for second spot, which would still represent an excellent campaign.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side have only lost five of their 36 league games this season - the same number as Juve - while they have scored 96 times, which is easily the best attacking record in the league.
Atalanta have actually never finished second in Serie A, while they were a bottom-half team between 2011 and 2016, having only secured a return to the top flight for the 2011-12 campaign.
They have improved considerably over the last four seasons, though, and will be looking to end their domestic campaign on a positive note before facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on August 12.
Parma Serie A form: LDLLWW
Atalanta Serie A form: WDWDWD
Team News
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Parma will still be without the services of Hernani, Matteo Scozzarella and Andreas Cornelius through injury, while Gaston Brugman is a doubt for the home side.
Brugman actually missed out against Brescia through suspension due to the booking that he picked up against Napoli, but the midfielder is struggling with a muscular problem and could therefore remain absent.
Gervinho could again start through the middle for the home side, with Dejan Kulusevski, who is heading for Juventus this summer, featuring in a wide position.
As for Atalanta, Gasperini, who still has concerns over Josip Ilicic, is expected to shuffle his pack from the draw against Milan, with Luis Muriel, Timothy Castagne and Mario Pasalic likely to return to the starting XI.
Jose Luis Palomino should also feature at the heart of the defence, but the likes of Marten de Roon and Alejandro Gomez should keep their spots in the side.
Duvan Zapata scored against Milan but could now drop to the bench to allow Muriel to return.
Parma possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Laurini, Iacoponi, Dermaku, Darmian; Kucka, Kurtic, Barilla; Kulusevski, Gervinho, Caprari
Atalanta possible starting lineup:
Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Gosens, Freuler, De Roon, Castagne; Pasalic; Muriel, Gomez
We say: Parma 0-2 Atalanta
Parma have won their last two to rise into 10th spot in the table, but we are finding it difficult to predict a home victory on Tuesday night. Atalanta will be desperate to finish second if they cannot win the title, and we are predicting a two-goal success for Gasperini's side in this match.
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 63.04%. A draw had a probability of 19.5% and a win for Parma had a probability of 17.51%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atalanta BC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.97%) and 0-1 (8.05%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.8%), while for a Parma win it was 2-1 (4.81%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for Atalanta BC in this match.
