Atalanta vs Sassuolo: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Published at :January 1, 2024 at 4:05 PM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 11:10 AM

One of these sides will play either AC Milan or Cagliari in the quarter-finals

Atalanta will kick start their 2024 New Year campaign against Sassuolo Calcio. It is a Round of 16 match from the Coppa Italia competition. La Dea last played against Lecce on Saturday in Serie A. They were playing as hosts at the Gewiss Stadium and eventually won the game 1-0. The scorer, Ademola Lookman, though will be away from club action for AFCON duties for the Nigeria national football team.

Sassuolo on the other hand had a very tough last month. After playing all competition fixtures of December 2023, they remained winless. The Neroverdi also played their last game on Saturday like Atalanta. It was against Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan at the San Siro. Rossoneri’s Christian Pulisic scored the only goal of the match which remained the final difference between the sides after the full 90 minutes.

Kick-Off:

Wednesday, 3 January 2024 at 5:00 PM UK (10:30 PM IST)

Location: Gewiss Stadium

Form

Atalanta (in all competitions): W-L-W-W-W

Sassuolo (in all competitions): L-L-D-L-L

Players to Watch

Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta)

The former West Ham striker should be the reliable backing for Atalanta in the absence of Ademola Lookman. For the club, only behind Lookman, Gianluca Scamacca leads the top scorer charts. In just 12 Serie A games, Scamacca has found the back of the net for a total of 5 times. Plus he has two assists as well.

Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)

The winger already has 9 goals and 3 assists after playing 14 league games. Last season Domenico Berardi scored 12 goals in the entire league season. This season has been a significant improvement over 2022-23. The Sassuolo number 10 is one of the key players to watch out for this Coppa Italia.

Match Facts

The hosts are unbeaten in their last 4 home games across all competitions
The visitors are winless in their last 5 games in all competitions
The winner will play either AC Milan or Cagliari Calcio in the quarter-finals

Injury & Team News

Centre back Giorgio Scalvini suffered a muscle injury in warmup ahead of kickoff against Lecce. So is expected to be sidelined. Ademola Lookman who scored the winner of that match is headed to Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 to join Nigeria camp. Rafael Toloi and El Bilal Touré inclusions are a doubt. Centre back José Luis Palomino is expected to make a return by mid-January alongside right-back Hans Hateboer.

For the visitors, none of them – Uros Racic, Pedro Obiang, Matias Vina, Gregoire Defrel and Daniel Boloca, are available. All have separate injuries which are expected to keep them away from action at least until mid-January.

Head to Head

Total Matches – 25

Atalanta wins – 16

Sassuolo wins – 4

Draws – 5

Predicted Lineup

Atalanta predicted lineup (3-4-1-2):

Carnesecchi (GK); de Room, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, Pasalic, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Scamacca, Muriel

Sassuolo predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Consigli (GK); Toljan, Erlic, Ferrari, Pedersen; Thorstvedt, Henrique; Berardi, Bajrami, Lauriente; Pinamonti

Match Prediction for Atalanta vs Sassuolo

In the last two games we have seen Atalanta finding it hard to score goals. Also as in this game, they will be without their top scorer Ademola Lookman which might make things further problematic. Sassuolo shouldn’t shy away from seeking a win in this one even though last five games they have been winless. Chances are – the game settles with a goal or two, which the visitors might deliver.

Prediction: Atalanta 0-1 Sassuolo

Telecast for Atalanta vs Sassuolo

India – No telecast

UK – Viaplay

US – Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, Fubo

Nigeria – StarTimes

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