After kicking off their Scudetto defence with a remarkable 4-2 win at San Siro, AC Milan will head to the Gewiss Stadium to face one of their potential title rivals in Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta. La Dea have also started their Serie A campaign with a win as they secured a 2-0 away win against Sampdoria in the opening matchweek. Both teams will face a sterner test in their next round of Serie A fixtures, but who do the top football betting tips experts think will come out on top?
Atalanta
Under Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta have been an exciting team to watch. They play an entertaining brand of football and also have been in contention for European spot finishes. The Bergamo outfit seem set for another impressive run in the Italian top-flight this season as they returned from Genoa with a solid 2-0 victory.
Atalanta scored two beautifully constructed goals at The Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris to claim the bragging rights. Rafael Tolói opened the scoring in the 26th minute as he slid towards a Mario Pašalić pass to send to the back of the net. In injury time, debutant Ademola Lookman doubled the lead after collecting the ball from Ruslan Malinovskyi. Despite the win, Gasperini would be wary of his main striker Duván Zapata’s form. The Colombian was heavily involved throughout the match but failed to end his barren run in front of the goal that saw him score only once in his last 13 Serie A outings. If he fails to score against Milan, it will be Zapata’s worst run of form in his Atalanta career.
Davide Zappacosta and Merih Demiral will not come back to the fold before September. So, Gasperini will have to set up his battle plans once again without these two players. Ademola Lookman made a strong case for starting against Milan with his fantastic off-the-bench spell against Sampdoria. So, he might be the only change Gasperini would consider making to the starting lineup.
AC Milan
Milan continued their trend of starting the season with a win when they registered a 4-2 win in front of the electric San Siro crowd. Ever since Stefano Pioli took the reins, the Rossoneri have always won in their first Serie A games. In fact, they have won the first two in a row in the previous campaigns under Pioli.
On Saturday night, they visit an arena that has been a happy hunting ground for the defending Serie A champions. In their last four trips to the Gewiss Stadium, they have returned victorious three times. But Pioli would know his team can’t afford to make the same defensive mistakes they did last weekend since they will be playing against one of the best attacking units in Italy.
The Atalanta game will come too soon for Sandro Tonali. Alexis Saelemaekers and Charles De Ketelaere might come into the starting XI against Atalanta.
Our Prediction
Atalanta vs Milan has goals galore written all over it. Both teams have excellent attacking assets, but we believe Milan boast a more balanced side which will ultimately draw the line between the two sides. We are expecting Milan to back up their opening day win with another victory. Our prediction is a 3-2 win for Milan.
Our Tip
Milan to win @ 2.56
