Atalanta vs Venezia

High-flying Atalanta welcome 16th-placed Venezia to the Gewiss Stadium for what appears to be a straightforward Serie A task for the hosts at first glance.

A hard-fought 1-0 away win at Juventus at the weekend set Atalanta up nicely for this clash as they aim to extend their eye-catching seven-game unbeaten Serie A run (W5, D2) against sub-par opposition. Overwhelming pre-match favorites, ‘La Dea’ have recorded seven victories across their nine Serie A meetings with Venezia at home (D1, L1). Against this backdrop, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have endured an indifferent home form this season in Serie A (W2, D3, L2), with a crushing 5-2 victory over Spezia in their most recent home fixture ending a run of three winless games (D2, L1). After keeping Juventus at bay last time out, Atalanta could manage two consecutive Serie A clean sheets for the first time this season. Worryingly, though, after a run of seven straight Serie A home wins, they’ve only won one of their last eight such contests, 2020/21 included.

As for Venezia, a spirited performance against reigning champions Inter Milan was over the weekend was enough only for a 2-0 defeat, as their three-match undefeated Serie A streak (W2, D1) came to a halt. Curiously, despite averaging just 0.62 goals per Serie A away game this season, the visitors have gone unbeaten in 50% of their top-flight travels so far (W2, D2, L4). However, when they lose, it tends to be in disturbing fashion, with each of their four Serie A defeats on the road this term yielding a full-time margin of 2+ goals. Though they head into proceedings as massive underdogs, Venezia have a piece of history to play for here, as they could keep a clean sheet in three consecutive top-flight away games for the first time.