High-flying and free-scoring Atalanta travel to Cagliari on Sunday night (19:15) aiming for another three points to consolidate a top four finish.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Cagliari (3-5-2): Cragno; Pisacane, Carboni, Lykogiannis; Mattiello, Nandez, Nainggolan, Rog, Ionita; Simeone, João Pedro.
Unavailable: Ceppitelli, Klavan, Oliva, Pavoletti, Pereiro, Walukiewicz, Birsa, Pellegrini.
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Hateboer, de Roon, Freuler, Gosens; Pasalic, Gomez; Muriel.
KEY STATISTICS
– Cagliari have won four of their last five Serie A matches against Atalanta – including a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture this season – as many as they had in their previous 14 in the competition.
– These two sides last shared the points in a Serie A encounter in January 2013 – since then, the Sardinians lead by six wins to five.
– Over the last five Serie campaigns, Cagliari have lost four of the last five games against Atalanta played in the second half of the season, failing to score in three of those games.
– Cagliari failed to score in this exact fixture last season – they last went consecutive home games against the Bergamaschi without scoring in the 1960s.
– Atalanta have won their last four away games- they’ve never won five in a row on the road in their Serie A history.
– Cagliari have picked up seven points in their last three Serie A games, as many as they gained in their previous 13.
– Walter Zenga is unbeaten as a coach against Gian Piero Gasperini (W1 D3).
– Cagliari’s Valter Birsa made his Serie A debut in September 2011 against Atalanta while playing for Genoa. He has scored more goals against La Dea than any other team in the competition (three goals in 12 appearances).
– Atalanta’s Alejandro Gómez has scored three goals in 14 league appearances against Cagliari, scoring all three goals on home soil in 2017.
– Amongst opponents he has faced at least 10 times in Serie A, Atalanta’s Josip Iliic has scored the fewest goals against Cagliari: just one in 11 games, with his goal coming back in January 2013 when he was at Palermo.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com