Napoli vs Atalanta
Serie A is back this weekend folks; and 2025 Scudetto winners Napoli are hoping that two weeks away have done the trick as they try to get back to winning ways when they meet Atalanta on Saturday evening.
Antonio Conte’s men had a setback before the break, losing to Bologna and, in so doing, handed top spot over to Inter Milan. I Nerazzurri have 24 points, alongside AS Roma, with AC Milan and Napoli two points back, and the latest Serie A 2025 betting odds have taken a sharp shift back towards Milan.
While Napoli have a minor headache Atalanta are suffering a serious hangover following the departure of long term manager Gian Piero Gasperini. La Dea appointed Ivan Juric as his successor but, with the club down in 13th place, the Croatian coach fell on his sword and, last week, Atalanta appointed Raffaele Palladino as his successor. The 41 year old has already shown what he can do in the dugout, keeping Monza in the top flight in 2023 and 2024 before leading Fiorentina to sixth and a European place in 2025.
Naples could hardly be a tougher place to go on his first trip as Atalanta manager and the SBOTOP odds say Palladino is in for a baptism of fire.
Talking Points
Conte is back and ready to go again
The race for the Scudetto is as compelling as ever this season and, with Roma playing away to Cremonese on Sunday and the Derby Di Milano rounding up the weekend on Sunday night, Napoli will return to the top if they beat Atalanta. The defeat to Bologna followed on from two home goalless draws, with Como in the league and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.
And that little run was enough to drive the passionate Conte to distraction, and he let his players know what he thought, in no uncertain terms, in the aftermath of defeat to Bologna. He headed off to his home in Turin for a break and there was talk of a possible resignation, but Conte returned to Naples and he and the players are re-united, with a shared mission to defend their title and get their Champions League campaign moving too.
Napoli did receive some bad news during the international break, midfield ace Andre-Frank Anguissa suffering a muscle injury which the club fears will keep him out of action until the New Year. And with Roma and Juventus to follow Conte needs his best available players on form. Scott McTominay scored a brilliant goal for Scotland in the break and his influence in Naples is huge, while Rasmus Hojlund is growing in confidence as the main striker.
Conte is looking to strengthen in the January window and Napoli have already been linked with Manchester United want-away midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa. But, in the meantime, he needs his current crop of players to get back to winning ways.
Atalanta hoping for a new manager bounce
With the Serie A 2025 news emerging from Bergamo concerning off-field matters, Palladino now needs to get things going on the pitch. La Dea went into the international break with a damaging 3-0 home defeat to Sassuolo, a performance which lost Juric his job, though it was only his second defeat of the campaign. Two wins, seven draws and two losses tells the story of a team struggling to turn stalemates into victories, and 13 goals from 13 games is hardly the return we’d expect from one of the best attacking teams of the last decade.
La Dea are captained by Croatian midfielder Mario Pasalic, a box to box player with energy, vision and a taste for goals, with 34 from 173 games over the last five seasons. The attacking muscle comes from Ademola Lookman, Nicola Krstovic and Gianluca Scammaca, and the front line depends on the creative instinct of advanced midfielder Charles de Ketelaere, the Belgian international has height and pace and, on his day, can dominate.
Palladino has plenty to work with and now he needs to turn talent into results.
History
These two teams have gone toe to toe over the past 40 meetings, Napoli winning 17 to Atalanta’s 15 and there have been eight draws.
Neither team has been ripping up the league in recent weeks; while Napoli have recorded two wins, two draws and two defeats from the last six games, in all competitions, Atalanta have won just once, drawn three and lost two.
Betting Tip
While the ‘new manager bounce’ may come into play I Partenopei should really beat a team which has only won two of its first 13 games, but Atalanta are in the game at odds of 3.45 with the draw at 3.10.
For a Correct Score-line, 1-1 is the most fancied outcome at odds of 6.00 with a 1-0 win to Napoli at 7.00 or a 2-1 home win at 7.50. It looks like it will be a tight game but I expect Conte to get his team back on track.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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