Atalanta vs AC Milan

Atalanta and AC Milan are set to trade tackles at the Gewiss Stadium in a massive Serie A top-four six-pointer.

Despite going unbeaten in five of their opening six Serie A matches this season (W3, D2, L1), Atalanta are not enjoying their best football, as witnessed by a paltry scoring return of 1.33 goals per league game. Unlike some previous years, Atalanta’s Serie A games have been notably tight this season, with all six yielding a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals. But, ‘La Dea’ can draw confidence from a hard-earned 1-0 home win over Young Boys in the Champions League midweek as they seek revenge for last season’s 2-0 H2H defeat at this venue. Long-serving manager Gian Piero Gasperini has racked up just one win in his five top-flight encounters with Milan on home turf (D2, L2), overseeing his side keep only one clean sheet in that spread of games.

On the other hand, Milan’s eye-catching start to the season has seen them win five of their inaugural six Serie A fixtures, barring a 1-1 away draw with arch-rivals Juventus a fortnight ago. A potential victory here would witness the ‘Rossoneri’ equal their best-ever start to a new Serie A campaign in a three-point-per-win era, amassing 19 points from their first seven league matches in 2003/04. It could be easier said than done, though, as they last won back-to-back away top-flight H2Hs in 2013, incidentally winning the first of those two matches by a 2-0 scoreline. Milan’s away action usually sparks into life beyond half-time, as three of their four Serie A goals scored away from home this season have come in the second half of play. Indeed, two of their three league road trips this season have featured at least one goal beyond the 75th minute.