Serie A: Bologna Striving for the Champions League

Bologna vs Atalanta

The holiday season is coming up, but there’s nothing jolly about clawing your way out of a tight Serie A table. The Italian top flight boasts itself as being one of the most competitive leagues in the world, and looking at their league standings is a clear attestation of how cutthroat the Italian league is.

Multiple teams find themselves in a sticky situation, rubbing elbows with their rivals as the season progresses. Luckily for Atalanta and Bologna, they can lean on their maestros, Joshua Zirkzee and Ademola Lookman, to produce world-class football on a nightly basis.

After Matchday 16, Bologna have battled their way into living out their Champions League hopes. With their stellar form coupled with their lenient schedule compared to other Italian clubs, Thiago Motta and his perseverant squad are poised to be one of the top clubs in Serie A when the season is all said and done.

Talking Points

Zirkzee vs Lookman

Offence has been the calling card for these Italian rivals, and it’s Zirkzee and Lookman who are the main suspects for their attacking success.

Joshua Zirkzee is the main catalyst for Bologna’s hot streak this season. Thiago Motta made the right decision when he put his trust in the 22-year-old forward, given that Bologna are currently riding one of their best Serie A starts in recent history.

Scoring seven goals in 16 matches is quite a feat for a player who’s not playing for one of the top clubs in Europe, and his brilliance under Thago Motta’s guidance is not unnoticed. The young Dutch is headlining Serie A 2023 news, with big clubs such as Juventus and AC Milan showing interest in the young striker.

Elsewhere, Ademola Lookman comes in big for Atalanta night in and night out, scoring seven goals and dishing out three assists after 16 Serie A games. The Nigerian winger is the tip of the spear for Gian Piero Gasperini’s system by pushing, creating for his teammates, scoring goals, the whole nine yards.

The 26-year-old possesses a trait only a few footballers have: being able to dominate the game without scoring a goal. Which he astoundingly showcased during their 4-1 clobbering of Salernitana.

Lookman was not on the scoreboard against Salernitana, but he had his fingerprints all over the match. He controlled the pace and kept pushing the ball to garner momentum after conceding an early goal to the visiting squad. The Nigerian winger was the main catalyst for their comeback win, and he nicked an assist to boot.

Bologna enjoy a lenient schedule advantage

Bologna and Atalanta are two of a handful of teams clawing their way to the upper echelon of the Italian top flight. Despite being the fourth seed in the league standings, Bologna are not out of the woods just yet, as they only have a three-point lead over the eighth-seeded Roma.

Meanwhile, Atalanta are right in the middle of the fray as the seventh seed, with 26 points. Their recent upset against Milan and their thrashing of Salernitana find them just two points behind fourth-seeded Bologna.

Petroniani have the upper hand when it comes to keeping their roster fresh for Serie A matches, given that they only participate in the top flight and Coppa Italia. Meanwhile, Atalanta join Bologna in the Coppa Italia round of 16, while also participating in the Europa League and Serie A.

It is well documented that fatigue and injuries have been plaguing multiple teams in multiple top flights, and Thiago Motta will be able to indulge in the fact that they have a leaner slate compared to their Serie A rivals, which is a great advantage for Petroniani.

History

These sides have a respectable sample size, with 30 past head-to-heads prior to their Matchday 17 clash. The Nerazzurri have dominated their head-to-heads by winning 17 matches and scoring a total of 45 goals. Meanwhile, Bologna were able to bag seven wins, six draws, and score 28 goals against Atalanta.

Atalanta have the upper hand against Petroniani at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, winning seven out of the 15 games in the iconic Italian stadium, and they aim to extend their dominance in front of Bologna fans, but they’ll have a tough outing given that Motta’s team is making a resurgence in the Italian league this season.

In recent form, Bologna are keeping their Champions League dreams alive by winning three of their last five games, garnering 28 points after 16 games, and boxing out threatening teams like Napoli and Fiorentina to overtake the fourth spot.

Atalanta, on the other hand, have overtaken Roma in Matchday 16 with a dominant 4-1 win against Salernitana. The well-deserved three points propelled them to the seventh spot in the standings and gave them a one-point lead over I Giallorossi.

Betting Tip 

These two clubs are a match made in heaven for SBOTOP football fans, given that these teams are neck and neck in terms of their production and form in the season thus far. Bologna are ahead by two points in the league table, but the Serie A 2023 betting odds have Atalanta as the slight favourites for this match.

Atalanta are priced at 2.55 to win, while Thiago Motta’s outfit is right there at 2.58 with 3.10 to draw. It’s really a toss-up between Bologna and Atalanta for this Serie A tie, but given their recent form and their past head-to-heads, I’d personally side with the visiting team on this one.

Bologna have been on a convincing run, winning three of their last five Serie A matches, which included wins against Roma and Torino, while Gasperini’s side trampled Salernitana and edged out Milan.

Also, given that Bologna were able to score in their last five games and scored at least two goals in three of them. Meanwhile, Atalanta’s offence has been online, scoring 12 goals in their last three games across all competitions. With this, the line for goals over 2.50 holds tremendous value, being priced at 2.11.

 

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