Atalanta vs Cesena

After 10 successive league victories took Atalanta BC to the top of Serie A for the first time since 1997, their attentions will turn to the Coppa Italia on Wednesday, where they face Cesena in the last 32.

Having lost in the final the last season the leaders of the Serie A want to take the championship by storm this season, while their counterparts in the second division want to upset the apple cart.

Atalanta set a new club record of 10 successive Serie A victories on Saturday defeating Cagliari 1-0 with Nicolo Zaniolo scoring the only goal while keeper Marco Carnesecchi making excellent saves.

In form in the Italian Serie A with a two-point cushion over the first chasing pack, La Dea suffered a rare blip at the midweek - a loss to Real Madrid in Champions league – but was back to winning ways on the weekend.

As the Italian club, Atalanta, still pursues a top-eight finish in the league phase of Europe’s top tournament and sets the pace in the fiercely competitive title race they can confidently lay claim to targeting four trophies this season after the extraordinary campaign of the previous season that saw them clinch the UEFA Europa League beating Premier League’s favorite club, Manchester United.

Also scheduled to participate in the Supercoppa Italiana next month, the Bergamo club will begin their latest cup run, the Coppa Italia, for the first time since the Bianconeri edged past them 1-0 in the final in May.

As if it were never trying to ease pressure on a bunch of inspired idealists, head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has preferred to switch between praise and warning as his players attempt to land the club its first ever Scudetto.

The Bergamaschi come into the game having taken four of the sides’ last five league encounters since eliminating Cesena in the cup back in 2009.

The winner of the teams' first match since 2015 will play Bologna at home in the quarterfinals in February, but Cesena has to pull off a huge upset to send their Emilian opponents to Stadio Dino Manuzzi.

Atalanta is only now joining the league because of their Champions League commitments, but Michele Mignani's team has made it thus far in the Coppa by taking the easy route.

Cristian Shpendi scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi after they defeated Padova in the preliminary round and were then sent to play top-tier opponents in the first round.

Following their September elimination of Pisa, another Serie B promotion hopeful, by a goal from Raffaele Celia, Cesena has resumed their pursuit of a top-eight finish in Italy's second division.

The Bianconeri defeated Cosenza 2-1 on Saturday, putting them in fourth place in the rankings and on track for a postseason berth, albeit they are currently 12 points off of the automatic promotion spots.
Atalanta will undoubtedly take advantage of the opportunity to make several changes despite their busy schedule, offering occasional starts to periphery players like Nicolo Zaniolo and Lazar Samardzic.

Gian Piero Gasperini may rest Serie A top scorer Mateo Retegui, but captain Marten de Roon might make a comeback after being benched over the weekend.

Gianluca Scamacca has not yet recovered from an ACL rupture, and Giorgio Scalvini is dealing with a muscular issue. However, concerns about Isak Hien suffering a serious chest injury were allayed after returning from Cagliari; he should also miss Wednesday's game due to some bruising.

Before traveling to Bergamo, Cesena had a major blow when their star striker, Cristian Shpendi, left the field in tears during the team's victory over Cosenza. Additionally, the leading scorer in Serie B may be out for several weeks due to a sprained ankle.