AC Milan will take the short trip up the autostrada to Bergamo as they take on Atalanta at the Gewiss Stadium tonight in what is a big litmus test.
Milan have been in better form since the November break, with a frustrating draw against Juventus followed by wins over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League, Empoli in the league and Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia.
There is still pressure on Paulo Fonseca to show the team have taken a mental leap as they take on Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, who have won eight in a row and scored a league-high 34 goals.
Our pre-match preview has all the latest team news and some further insight on Atalanta, while below are the best stats ahead of the game. While waiting for kick-off, check out Lucky Clover Casino.
Key facts and stats
➤ Atalanta and Milan have drawn 45 of their 126 Serie A matches, with 26 Nerazzurri wins and 55 Rossoneri victories completing the tally; against no other team have the Bergamo club recorded more draws in the competition (45 also against Juventus).
➤ Since 2020-21 onwards, Milan have won four of their eight Serie A matches against Atalanta (D2 L2). During this period, the Bergamo club have lost more matches only against Inter (six) and Napoli (five).
➤ Atalanta won their last league match at the Gewiss Stadium against Milan (3-2 on 9 December 2023) and have only once achieved two consecutive home wins against the Rossoneri in Serie A: between November 2006 and January 2008.
➤ Atalanta (31) have won more than 30 points after 14 games played in Serie A for the first time in their history, considering three points per win all-time. Furthermore, the Bergamo team have obtained eight consecutive victories for the second time in Serie A after a streak of nine consecutive successes recorded between February and July 2020.
➤ Atalanta have scored at least two goals in each of their last 11 home games in Serie A, the longest ongoing streak of home games with at least two goals in the competition. Meanwhile, the last team to record a longer such run was Juventus: 12 between December 2019 and July 2020.
➤ Milan have kept a clean sheet in six of their last 10 league games, including clean sheets in their two most recent games; the Rossoneri have not kept three consecutive clean sheets in Serie A since February 2023, when the third was against Atalanta.
➤ Milan have won just two of their six away league games this season (D2 L2), but could remain unbeaten after their first seven away games in Serie A for the first time since 2018-19 (W2 D3 L2).
➤ Match between the four Serie A players that have been involved in the most goals in the calendar year 2024 in all competitions: Charles De Ketelaere (30, 14G + 16A), Ademola Lookman (30, 19G + 11A), Rafael Leão (28, 16G + 12A) and Christian Pulisic (27, 16G + 11A).
➤ All three of Rafael Leão’s goals in Serie A this season have come away from home. Meanwhile, among those who have only scored away from home in the competition this term, no player has found the net more times than Razvan Marin, Davide Frattesi and Duván Zapata.
De Ketelaere (30, 14G + 16A)
When a player plays for a coach that truly understands his strength and weakness, getting the best from such player will be very easy.
Who could have imagine that De Ketelaere will contribute so much to Atalanta’s progress.
Wow! I hadn’t noticed that CDK has had 30 goal contributions for Atalanta already in 2024! I always supported getting rid of him, thinking that after 54 games for us, only 1 assist and no goals (stats worse than Origi’s) were an indication of certain mediocrity that would never be reversed. I thought that his previous form before joining us had only been possible due to his playing for a weaker league, and thought that he would never do well in Serie A. I guess I was wrong, and getting rid of him was after all a mistake. It does seem now like Pioli completely mismanaged CDK, unlike Gasparini.