Gasperini’s goal-machine set for a Turin win
The good, the bad and the ugly
Another season of Serie A has rolled around, and the pick of the bunch with these opening fixtures must be Torino vs Atalanta. The visitors are one of the most entertaining on the continent while Torino have had their ups and downs in the past few seasons. Gasparini’s men will be looking to carry on from last season’s exploits, finishing 3rd in a four-team race for the three remaining Champions league spots after Inter wrapped up the title. For Torino, it was a very different story. Had it not been for talisman Andrea Belotti, ‘Il Toro’ may well have found themselves in Serie B. Finishing 17th, just four points ahead of relegated Benevento should have rung a mass of alarm bells across Turin for Ivan Juric’s side.
About last time…
While reflecting solely on last season can’t always tell the full story, in this case, it tells us a lot. Atalanta won 2-4 in Turin the last time these two sides met there, and the time before that in Turin, La Dea trounced the hosts 0-7. Torino won back some respect by battling for a 3-3 draw in Bergamo last season, but one thing’s for sure; this fixture has goals in it. The dangermen for Atalanta come from all over the pitch, but their assassins in attack are Duvan Zapata, Josip Ilicic and Luis Muriel. These three combined for 50 goals last campaign, and with players such as Robin Gosens, Ruslan Malinovskiy and Matteo Pessina supporting this attack, Gasperini has an embarrassment of riches in the attacking department. However, Atalanta have always been somewhat vulnerable defensively, and with striker Andrea Belotti leading the Torino line, Torino should put up a fight to get their season off to a good start. Belotti will be hoping for support from Antonio Sanabria, brought in in the January window and showed some goal threat to help steer Torino away from the drop.
All-out attack
Atalanta’s goalscoring exploits have become well-renowned across the footballing world by now, and their reputation for simply trying to outscore opponents is true to this day. But this gung-hoe tactic brought in by Gasperini does sometimes leave them quite vulnerable, which is why I can see goals galore on Saturday. Torino will have to be at their very best to challenge this Atalanta side, and it could be another long season in store for them, especially if the unthinkable happens and Belotti sets off to a bigger and better team.
I’m looking to both the Atalanta win and goals market for this game. Atalanta were good value last season in both markets, and I expect much of the same coming into this 2021/22 campaign. That’s why I’m going with an Atalanta win and over 3.5 goals with bet365.
Post bet chat Archie's Tips:
Our winning streak comes to an end, and by the slimmest of margins. A 1-2 Atalanta win isn't quite enough to see this one over the line