The teams
After a tough 5-1 midweek loss to UEFA Champions League giants Manchester City, Atalanta B.C. will be hoping to get back to winning ways against a tricky but beatable Udinese Calcio squad. In their previous Serie A match, Atalanta drew 3-3 against SS Lazio after being up 3-0. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini will surely be looking for a much more complete 90-minute effort from his team this weekend. With SSC Napoli in fourth place and only one point behind Atalanta, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Sunday.
Their opponents on the other side of the pitch, Udinese, have been in decent form as of late, winning two out of their last three matches and coming off a 1-0 win against Torino F.C last weekend. Currently, in 11th place, Udinese will be hoping to keep their impressive campaign under coach Igor Tudor going and pull out another decent result in this weekends clash.
Possible lineups
Atalanta (3-5-2): Pierluigi Gollini; Rafael Toloi, Berat Djimsiti, Simon Kjaer; Timothy Castagne, Remo Freuler, Mario Pasalic, Marten de Roon, Robin Gosens; Luis Muriel, Papu Gomez
Udinese (3-5-2): Juan Musso; William Troost-Ekong, Nicholas Opoku, Samir; Hidde ter Avest, Rolando Mandragora, Rodrigo de Paul, Mato Jajalo, Ken Sema; Kevin Lasagna, Stefano Okaka
Injuries
Atalanta will be without their striker and top goalscoring threat Duvan Zapata. However, Gasperini should have everyone else at his disposal for Sunday's afternoon match.
Udinese looks to be without only one player, their right-back Jens Stryger Larsen who is struggling with a muscular injury.
Game changers
From Atalanta look to their small and creative captain Papu Gomez who year after year continues to show he is a top player in Serie A. Already with four goals and three assists in eight Serie A appearances this year, look for Gomez to try to add to those totals this weekend. Another player who can have a big impact on this match is Luis Muriel. The striker has five goals in six appearances this year and if given the opportunity, he can surely help Atalanta be successful.
The game changers from Udinese to keep an eye on are arguably their two best players, midfielder Rodrigo de Paul and goalkeeper Juan Musso. De Paul is certainly their most talented player. Look for him to pull the strings and be an attacking force when possible. Musso has time and time again kept Udinese in games, collecting four clean sheets in the process. He has also started every Serie A game and played a full 90 in all of them, he is certainly heavily relied upon between the sticks. Notable mention also goes out to Stefano Okaka, who scored the game-winning goal against Torino last weekend.
Match details
Sunday's clash will take place at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo. Kickoff between Atalanta and Udinese is set for 2:00 p.m (GMT+1), as Atalanta look to get back to winning ways and Udinese look to keep up their recently found form, both hungry for a victory.