In Bergamo, two of Serie A’s most spectacular and efficient teams (126 goals combined) face off—two Italian sides that embrace a “European” philosophy, believing attractive and offensive football leads to results. According to an Italian coaching legend Arrigo Sacchi, Atalanta is powerful, while Inter is compact, but both teams share a commitment to aggressive and intense football. Gian Piero Gasperini is eager to break free from the nightmare called Simone Inzaghi. Since taking over at Inter, Inzaghi has never lost to Gasperini’s Atalanta—seven matches, seven wins.Atalanta fans have turned up in huge numbers to training ahead of our match against Inter. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/N0lGuDTYAo— Atalanta BC News (@AtalantaBC_News) March 15, 2025 At first glance, Inter seems to be in a more comfortable position. Looking at the table, tonight’s match is not a do-or-die situation for them, whereas for Atalanta, a defeat would mean saying goodbye to any Scudetto dreams. However, Inter cannot afford to lose either, as they are the only Italian club still competing on three fronts—Serie A, the Champions League, and the Coppa Italia, with tough opponents ahead: Bayern Munich and AC Milan. In other words, April will be brutal for Inter, and a slip-up tonight could deal a heavy psychological blow. A curious statistic: Atalanta no longer wins at home in Serie A, while Inter struggles on the road. Since December 22 last year (a win over Empoli), Atalanta has won just one match in Bergamo across all competitions—against Sturm Graz in the Europa League—while recording four draws and three defeats (Napoli in Serie A, Club Brugge in the Champions League, and Bologna in the Coppa Italia).It’s time for the real thing – who against who in the UCL 1/4 finals?If Atalanta has not been shining at home in the last two and a half months, Inter has also lost its dominance away. In their last four Serie A away games, they have collected only two points, drawing with Napoli and Milan while losing to Juventus and Fiorentina. Atalanta’s string of convincing away victories has successfully masked this alarming home record, keeping them in the title race. It is also worth noting that Gasperini’s side has lost only once in their last 23 Serie A matches (against Napoli), with 15 wins and seven draws.Lukaku opens up on Chelsea, Mourinho, LautaroInter’s last defeat to Atalanta dates back to November 11, 2018—one of the Nerazzurri’s worst losses in this century in Serie A (4-1). However, since then, La Dea has failed to take all three points in this Lombardy derby. In fact, Simone Inzaghi has won all seven of his encounters against Gasperini’s team. Mateo Retegui is closing in on Filippo Inzaghi’s scoring record for Atalanta in Serie A. Pippo netted 24 goals in the 1996/97 season, while Retegui currently sits at 22. However, the Italian international has neither scored nor assisted against Inter, despite playing more minutes against them than any other Serie A team (209). Unlike Retegui, Lautaro Martínez regularly finds the net against Atalanta. Since the 2019/20 season, he has scored six goals against La Dea.Surprise! This guy chose Senegal over SpainAtalanta will be without long-term absentees Scalvini, Scamacca, and Kosonu. They will also miss new defensive signing Posch and Juan Cuadrado, a key tactical figure in their victory over Juventus. Inter is also weakened, traveling to Bergamo without five players: Dimarco, Darmian, Zalewski, Zieliński, and De Vrij. Fortunately for Inzaghi, the upcoming international break will allow Dimarco and De Vrij to recover in time for late March fixtures. Gasperini has left one spot in Atalanta’s attack open: Retegui and Lookman are guaranteed starters, while the third slot will go to either De Ketelaere, Brescianini, or Pašalić. Inzaghi faces just one dilemma—whether to start Pavard or Bisseck, essentially deciding between Pavard’s experience or Bisseck’s speed and physicality to contain Atalanta’s most dangerous player, Lookman. SERIE A – MATCHDAY 29FridayGenoa – Lecce 2-1 (2-0)/Miretti 16, 45+2 – Krstovic 68 pen/SaturdayMonza – Parma 1-1 (0-0)/Izzo 60 – Bonny 84/Udinese – Verona 0-1 (0-0)/Duda 72/Milan – Como 2-1 (0-1)/Pulisic 53, Reijnders 75 – Cunha 33/Torino – Empoli 1-0 (0-0)/Vlasic 70/SundayVenezia – Napoli 0-017:00: (2.45) Bologna (3.35) Lazio (3.15)18:00: (1.55) Roma (4.00) Cagliari (6.50)20:00: (3.40) Fiorentina (3.25) Juventus (2.35)22:45: (2.65) Atalanta (3.35) Inter (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
