Soccer Italy Serie A Prediction

Atalanta vs Monza - Match Preview

⚽ 4 June 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0

After missing the opportunity to mathematically secure their place in next season’s Europa League with a 3-2 defeat at Inter Milan in the penultimate Serie A (SA) round, Atalanta know that only a victory will be enough to guarantee it now. With European involvement already assured, an Atalanta defeat coupled with wins for Roma and Juventus would see them drop from fifth to seventh.

A home return should be most welcome for Atalanta, who have managed to pick up six of the last nine available points here despite conceding first in all three games. One must look back to early March to find Atalanta’s last home clean sheet, but a respectable record in the face of their defensive frailties since then suggests they may well finish the campaign with a strong attacking performance (W4, L2).

Trying to spoil the party will be Monza, who could incredibly finish eighth in their first-ever top-flight season with a victory and a couple of favourable results elsewhere. That wouldn’t be good enough to secure a European berth, yet they’ll give it their all to further cement their place as the second-best side ever to make their debut season in the top flight, behind only AS Como of 1949/50 who finished in sixth.

Playing away from home won’t deter Monza from their aim of an eighth-placed finish, as exemplified by their current six-game unbeaten run of SA away games (W3, D3). Maintaining that run here won’t be easy, with Monza losing four of their five away league games against top-six opponents this season (W1, L4) whilst conceding three goals on average across those defeats.

📋 Players to watch: Atalanta’s 20-year-old Danish starlet Rasmus Højlund will be hoping to finish his campaign with a bang after scoring five of his last six goals for the club in Bergamo. As for Monza, Patrick Ciurria (G6) risks sharing his club's top SA scorer accolade with defender Carlos Augusto unless he can build on his goals in their last two away wins.

⚡ Hot stat: Going into the final round, Atalanta had won more SA games after conceding the opening goal than any other club (W5, D1, L10).