Atalanta and Lazio will conclude this Sunday, December 17, the seventeenth round of the Italian Championship version 2017/2018, penultimate of the first round. Scheduled to start at 17:45 (Brasília time), the match will be held at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium in Bergamo.

Atalanta’s recent performance

After a poor start to Serie A, which was offset by good performance and qualification for the second round of the Europa League, Atalanta also showed signs of improvement in the national competition, having added seven of their nine points in the last three rounds.
Thus, he reached 23 points (six wins, five draws and five losses), rising to eighth place in the Italian Championship. That’s not enough for a team that stayed in the European tournament qualifying zone last year and made a series of signings in the last transfer window.
The five-match series without losing (four wins and a draw), however, shows that coach Gian Piero Gasperini has managed to make the necessary adjustments to the team. The distance to Sampdoria, which closes the qualifying zone for the next edition of the Europa League in sixth place, was reduced by six points in the last three days. At the beginning of the seventeenth round was four points. To try to improve this situation, the coach has all the cast at his disposal for Sunday’s showdown. It does not face contusion or suspension problems.

The current form of Lazio

The same can not be said about Lazio. The Roman team will not be able to count on the game in Bergamo with one of its most important pieces. The attacker Ciro Immobile (16 games in the Italian Championship 2017/2018, 15 goals) is suspended. He was sent off in the game against Torino on Monday, December 11, at home, still in the first half. It turned out to be a deciding factor for the 3-1 defeat.
On Thursday, December 14, the striker returned to show its importance. In the game for the Italian Cup, it made two goals in the victory over Cittadella, also in Rome, by 4 to 1, that put to Lazio in the next phase.
Coach Simone Inzaghi has no substitutes that perform similarly to Immobile. So maybe you only have one player in front. Even because the Portuguese Nani (five games, a goal), which could be an option for the vacancy, is also delivered to the medical department. The same happens with Davide Di Gennaro (a game, no goal), further restricting the coach’s offensive options.
Despite having scored just four points out of 12 in the last four games, Lazio are still in the top of the standings. It is the fifth place with 32 points (ten wins, two draws and three losses). With 36 goals scored, has the second best attack of the Series A.

History of the bouts between Atalanta and Lazio
Lazio won the last three matches against Atalanta. In the previous season, the Romans made 4 to 3 in Bergamo and scored 2 to 1 in the capital.

There is not in the cast of Lazio an athlete even with the ability to score goals of Immobile. This will likely make the team use a different tactical scheme for this Sunday’s game prioritizing the defense and expecting opportunity to counterattack. Even playing at home, Atalanta should not start from the rival. Most likely you will play a game of patience without risking much. Thus, the tie becomes a good choice of guess. It has a price of 3.50 in Rivalo. Win of the Bergamo team pays 2.30 per real invested. Success of the Roman team yields 2.90.