Atalanta vs Fiorentina

Atalanta BC and Fiorentina, who have each collected three points from as many Serie A games this season, will look to win on Sunday before beginning their separate European campaigns.

The teams meet in Bergamo, where the visitors have not won a league match under Raffaele Palladino while the hosts have lost two straight games before to the international break.

After a wild summer in the transfer market, Atalanta has lost three of their first games this season, including their UEFA Super Cup loss to Real Madrid last month.

Atalanta emerged victorious in their Coppa Italia semi-final clash against Fiorentina, eventually going on to win a European title in Dublin, while Fiorentina endured another heart-wrenching loss in a Conference League final.

Following this, Vincenzo Italiano stepped down as Fiorentina’s manager after coming agonizingly close to securing a trophy for the Tuscan side. However, new head coach Raffaele Palladino has yet to ignite the team’s full potential.

Just before the international break, Fiorentina narrowly avoided defeat to Palladino's former team Monza, thanks to a stoppage-time equalizer from newcomer Robin Gosens. Domestically, they have yet to secure a win in the 2024-25 season.

Their only victory to date came in a penalty shootout during last month’s Conference League playoffs, after two draws with Puskas Akademia forced the tie to be decided on penalties.

Although Fiorentina has drawn their first five matches across all competitions for the first time in their history, they have only lost one of their last 11 Serie A games, dating back to the end of last season.

Gian Piero Gasperini's team defeated Lecce to start the 2024–25 season, but then lost to Inter Milan and Torino, the latter of which was especially discouraging.

The Europa League winners were behind their Lombardy rivals by two goals within ten minutes of the game starting at San Siro. By the time the final siren went out, they had already let up four goals without being able to score.

Gasperini agreed to stay longer in Bergamo after the team finished in the top four last season and won its first-ever European trophy. However, Teun Koopmeiners then forced his way out of the building, almost being followed by Ademola Lookman, and star striker Gianluca Scamacca was sidelined by an ACL injury.

Following a hectic transfer window, Atalanta will reassemble following the international break to start the process of regaining some confidence ahead of their Champions League comeback next week against Arsenal.

The Nerazzurri are determined to avenge their double loss to Fiorentina from the previous season this weekend. They have only lost three of their first four Serie A games once, in 2016, under the Gasperini era.

Fiorentina defeated Atalanta 3-2 twice in the previous season, including a postponed season finale in which the clubs played a previously scheduled match in early June since both participated in the UEFA finals.