Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini will have some major selection headaches ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Inter Milan.
The experienced tactician will be without some of his most important players when his team takes the short trip to Milano.
La Dea will certainly miss the services of Gianluca Scamacca who suffered a horrific ACL injury in pre-season. The same goes for fellow long-term absentee Giorgio Scalvini.
Sead Kolasican, Mitchel Bakker and Ibrahim Sulemana will also skip Friday’s Lombardian Derby, leaving Gasperini short of options.
Moreover, the pink newspaper notes that another three important stars will be evaluated ahead of the match.
The first is Ademola Lookman who has only recently returned to training. The Nigerian emerged as a serious candidate to join Paris Saint-Germain over the past few weeks, so he hasn’t been attending his club’s training sessions as of late.
Although the striker has once again put himself at Gasperini’s disposal, it remains unclear if he’ll be able to regain match fitness swiftly.
On the other hand, Nicolo Zaniolo is recovering from a muscle strain. He will be hoping to regain his optimal condition in time to earn a call-up against his old employers.
Finally, Isak Hien has missed two days of training due to flu. The medical staff will closely monitor his condition before making a decision on his availability.
Gasperini's Transfer Headaches and a New Season Beginning
Gasperini sarcastically commented on the Teun Koopmeiners move to Juventus and warned ‘a new season starts tomorrow’ for Atalanta against Inter, with his Champions League draw wish-list too.
The third Serie A match of their season kicks off on Friday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
This has been a wild summer for La Dea, who played Real Madrid in the Europa Super Cup after winning the Europa League, but then had Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman refusing to play amid transfer speculation.
“A new season starts for us tomorrow. I enjoyed it until July 10, then it got a bit too hot,” said Gasperini in his press conference with not a little sarcasm.
At least one soap opera was resolved yesterday, with Koopmeiners completing the move to Juventus.
“Koop got what he wanted. He did give us a great deal, so when everyone is happy, Juve, him and Atalanta, then they all lived happily ever after.”
There is still an injury crisis, exacerbated by news Isak Hien has flu symptoms and is expected to miss out, along with Nicolò Zaniolo, Sead Kolasinac, Ibrahim Sulemana, Gianluca Scamacca, Giorgio Scalvini and Mitchel Bakker.
Lookman returned to training yesterday once the transfer speculation from PSG and Arsenal died down and there are new signings Juan Cuadrado and Odilon Kossounou, but Gasperini has high hopes for the remaining hours of the window.
“I expect at least another five or six players,” he laughed. “It’s difficult to make predictions. I don’t think anyone really likes it being open when we are already playing. Cuadrado is a player who can really irritate opponents and was an opportunity as a free agent, he’s really eager.”
Cuadrado was a free agent after leaving Inter, who are Atalanta’s Serie A opponents tomorrow evening at San Siro.
“We have never won there against them, but there is always a first time for everything. Inter are a very strong squad, it’s a bit too early in the calendar considering everything that happened.
“Inter really got a head start on the others, because they were already a consolidated team and got their transfer business done very early. Juventus had an extraordinary transfer campaign, while Milan moved on the market too. Napoli are completing their squad, but I’d say the mid-level sides are going to raise the bar this season.”
A Tough Test for Inter Milan at Home
The reigning Champions of Italy started their season with a 2-2 draw away to Genoa, but then swept Lecce aside to get back on track.
Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi has immediately entrusted his captain Lautaro Martinez with a starting berth against Atalanta upon his return from injury.
The big news for the Nerazzurri is the return of their skipper and main talisman Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine had to skip the previous outing against Lecce due to a muscular injury. He left his place upfront to Mehdi Taremi who made his full Serie A debut.
Nevertheless, Martinez has overcome his physical problem. He is now ready and raring to go, so Inzaghi will rely on his services from the start.
Therefore, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner will start in attack alongside his usual partner-in-crime Marcus Thuram.
Moeover, Inzaghi has also confirmed the midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan once more.
On the flanks, Matteo Darmian and Federico Dimarco held off competition from Denzel Dumfries and Carlos Augusto to maintain their roles.
The backline also remains intact with Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni cementing their spots. As usual, Yann Sommer will start between the sticks.
The only absentee for the reigning Italian champions is Tajon Buchanan. The Canadian winger has been out with an injury since July and could remain on the sidelines until December.
Inter's First Major Test of the Campaign
Reigning champions Inter Milan will seek back-to-back Serie A wins on Friday, as they welcome Lombardy rivals Atalanta BC to San Siro.
After stumbling in their 2024-25 season opener, Inter saw off Lecce last week, when La Dea missed a last-gasp penalty and lost in Turin.
Having started their Scudetto defence with a 2-2 draw in Genoa earlier this month, Inter were keen to get up and running with victory over likely Serie A strugglers Lecce when the teams met in Milan last weekend.
Matteo Darmian found the net after just five minutes to put the Nerazzurri in control, and Hakan Calhanoglu later wrapped up three points by scoring from the spot - his 17th straight penalty conversion in Serie A.
A routine 2-0 win preserved Inter's 12-year streak of never losing their first home fixture, and the second-city giants have posted victories in each of the last six seasons.
Following a relatively kind start to the fixture list, Simone Inzaghi's side must now tackle one of Serie A's toughest tests in their final match before the international break.
Recent history is certainly on their side, as Inter cruised to a 4-0 win when the clubs met at San Siro last season - with Darmian also opening the scoring on that occasion - and last lost a league game to La Dea back in 2018.
In fact, Atalanta are winless in their last 11 top-flight matches against Inter, who clearly hold the upper hand in the sides' Lombardy rivalry.
Facing the Champions at San Siro: A Tough Task for La Dea
While they may have come up short against their fellow Nerazzurri, the Bergamo club are still punching above their weight in Italy and beyond, having secured another top-five finish last season and claimed a first-ever European trophy.
Gian Piero Gasperini - who once had a brief, unsuccessful spell as Inter boss - masterminded their impressive Europa League triumph, but a tough summer in the transfer market has undermined hopes of a fast start to the new campaign.
With stars such as Teun Koopmeiners engineering an untimely exit - in addition to other key men being struck down by injury - Atalanta followed up UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid by beating Lecce 4-0 in their league opener.
However - despite new signing Mateo Retegui scoring again - Mario Pasalic missed a stoppage-time penalty that would have snatched a 2-2 draw with Torino last time out.
Now, the Bergamaschi must face another away fixture while their Gewiss Stadium home is still being renovated - and perhaps the hardest one of all.
Inzaghi and Gasperini's Selection Headaches
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi can recall captain Lautaro Martinez, after a muscular problem ruled last season's Capocannoniere out of action last week.
Former Porto striker Mehdi Taremi started against Lecce, but 'El Toro' should now resume his partnership with Marcus Thuram up front.
Meanwhile, Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij has returned to full training and could join summer signing Piotr Zielinski on the bench, but Tajon Buchanan is still sidelined by a leg injury.
Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini will continue to fill several holes in his squad, as Teun Koopmeiners has joined Juventus and El Bilal Toure recently left for Stuttgart, while goalkeeper Juan Musso is off to Atletico Madrid.
Furthermore, Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca are both long-term absentees, while Sead Kolasinac and Mitchel Bakker will be unavailable this weekend.
Experienced duo Rui Patricio and Juan Cuadrado have arrived, though, and fellow new boy Raoul Bellanova will fight it out with Davide Zappacosta for selection at wing-back.
After scoring three goals in his first two Serie A games for La Dea, Mateo Retegui links up with ex-Milan forward Charles De Ketelaere in the final third.
The Verdict: Can Atalanta Overcome the Injury Crisis and Upset Inter?
Inter have yet to hit last term's peak - understandably at this early stage of the season - but they should still see off the threat of unpredictable Atalanta.
While La Dea finished 2023-24 like a train, they have since been hit by disruption to their squad and can sometimes be caught out at the back. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
