Atalanta vs Bologna
Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo
Tuesday, 21-07-2020 @8:30pm
Ref: Federico La Penna
Atalanta can at least temporarily climb into second place and set a new all-time club record for Serie A points, but Bologna are eager to make amends.
La Dea have secured their place in the Champions League for the second season running, already an immense achievement, but don’t want to stop there.
They are currently on 71 points, just one shy of their all-time club record, set in 2016-17. It would already have been broken if not for last week’s surprise 1-1 draw at Hellas Verona.
Sinisa Mihajlovic was furious with his Bologna squad after their ‘shameful’ 5-1 defeat at Milan.
He is expected to make wholesale changes to his starting XI yet again, as Musa Barrow returns to the line-up.
Bologna beat Atalanta 2-1 in the reverse fixture back in December, ending a run of seven consecutive Serie A defeats against the Bergamo club.
Sassuolo vs AC Milan
MAPEI Stadium, Reggio nell’Emilia
Tuesday, 21-07-2020 @10:45pm
Ref: Luca Pairetto
These are two of the form teams since the lockdown, as well as the top scorers in this mini-season, so fireworks are to be expected between Sassuolo and Milan.
The Neroverdi saw their run of four consecutive wins stalled by a 3-3 thriller with Juventus, but then failed to get more than a point against 10-man Cagliari, proving their focus on possession football and a high press will struggle when faced with an entirely defensive opponent.
It means they have fallen eight points behind Milan and practically out of the running for a Europa League spot.
However, Domenico Berardi, Francesco Magnanelli and Medhi Bourabia were all suspended for that game and return here.
Stefano Pioli earned praise from his players, fans and media for the 5-1 demolition of Bologna, which put the Rossoneri in joint sixth place with Napoli, just two points behind Roma in fifth.
However, the coach is still expected to get the sack in order to bring in Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.
Milan have been almost unstoppable since the restart, winning six games, drawing 2-2 with SPAL and Napoli. Zlatan Ibrahimovic loses his temper when he doesn’t score, but helps create the opportunities for his teammates.
Despite only being 21 years old, this will be Gianluigi Donnarumma’s 200th competitive appearance in the Milan jersey and he so far has 72 clean sheets.
Sassuolo have not beaten Milan since a 2-0 home result in March 2016, followed by two draws and five defeats.
Serie A upcoming fixtures
Wednesday, 22-07-2020
-Parma vs Napoli @8:30pm
-Lecce vs Brescia @10:45pm
-Inter Milan vs Fiorentina @10:45pm
-Sampdoria vs Genoa @10:45pm
-Torino vs Hellas Verona @10:45pm
-SPAL vs AS Roma @10:45pm
Thursday, 23-07-2020
-Udinese vs Juventus @8:30pm
-Lazio vs Cagliari @10:45pm
Serie A recent result
-Juventus 2-1 Lazio
