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Atalanta starts again with Raffaele Palladino, who will debut on the black-and-blue bench in Naples on Saturday. The coach is already thinking about a surprise move.

With the National team commitments almost over, the anticipation for the resumption of the Serie A is increasing day by day. And on Saturday, the championship will start immediately with two very intriguing big matches: Fiorentina-Juventus and Napoli–Atalanta. At the Maradona, there will be the debut of Raffaele Palladino on the black-and-blue bench, a special debut for the Neapolitan coach, who arrived to replace Ivan Jurić and is called to give a shake to a team that finds itself in 13th place, 6 points away from the Europa League zone and 9 points away from the Champions League zone.

Of course, the first challenge is not the easiest. They will face the Italian champions at their home, looking for redemption after some not very exciting weeks. Nevertheless, there is a lot of curiosity to understand what the first eleven chosen by Palladino will be, who, according to the latest rumors, could surprise, especially in attack.

Ademola Lookman on the ground disappointed ( PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI )

Atalanta, light attack hypothesis

With a Scamacca still looking for his best form and a Krstović who continues to lack effectiveness, it seems that Palladino is thinking of starting at the Maradona with a light attack. The idea would be to field Lookman, De Ketelaere, and Pasalić, the same trident that just over a year ago put the Azzurri defense in great difficulty and contributed to the clear 3-0 with which Gasperini’s Atalanta conquered the Naples stadium.

At the moment, it remains a hypothesis, also because the coach will wait to have all the players available before making a final decision. But the feeling is that Palladino wants to start immediately with a clear idea, focusing on mobility, quality between the lines, and a lot of aggressiveness.

The match in Naples, in this sense, will represent an important first test to understand how quickly the Goddess can rise again and find continuity.

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At Parma, this first part of the season has been marked by numerous serious injuries, putting Cuesta’s choices to the test.

If we had to choose one word to describe the first part of the season for Parma under Cuesta, it would certainly be injuries. In fact, in the early months of the championship, the ducal club had to deal with many setbacks: the latest being that of goalkeeper Suzuki. The Japanese underwent surgery for a double hand fracture and will not be available for the former Arsenal player for at least 3 months.

The injury to Suzuki adds to other key players like Nahuel Estevez, Alessandro Circati, Oristanio, and Almqvist, as well as long-term absentee Frigan. Many absentees that have surely impacted the performances of the ducal squad.

During this break, however, Parma was finally able to smile. In fact, two important returns have arrived for Cuesta: Valeri and Ondrejka. The full-back made his return to the field in the home match against Milan, coming on as a substitute towards the end, while the winger returned in the friendly against Mantova last Friday.

The absence of Valeri, out since October 6, has been felt in the offensive phase. Indeed, the ducals relied heavily on the skilled foot of number 14. Three assists this season for the former Frosinone player between the league and the Italian Cup.

On the other hand, the situation is completely different for Almqvist. The Swedish winger has not been seen on the field this season: he got injured in the first summer friendly against Werder Bremen. Another important absence for Parma under Cuesta: the 2002 class was crucial for the ducal club’s survival last season.

Soon, therefore, Cuesta will be able to rely on the two returns to lend a hand to the offensive phase, one of the worst in the entire Serie A.