After a long and very strange season, Inter have the chance to finish on a high as they face direct rivals Atlanta in their Bergamo fortress. Match today, Saturday, at 20:45 CET.

La Dea are quite possibly Europe’s hottest team at the moment; scoring goals aplenty and slaying giants in an expectation defying spectacle of a season.

With Gian Piero Gasperini at the helm, the tactician with a very keen eye for talent, Atalanta have managed to turn a squad of seemingly average players into a collective that plays some of the world’s most attractive football.

Now Italy’s two Nerazzurri must face each other in a head to head (to head with Lazio) fight for a second place finish to their respective seasons.

Inter go into the match in their best post-lockdown form; four wins in six matches, and the straight clean-sheets. Perhaps tellingly, this form has coincided with the return of the midfield duo Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella. The pair, along with central defenders Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni will be pivotal in containing the Atalanta attacking threat, and transitioning the ball quickly.

Inter cannot repeat any defensive errors they have exhibited recently. They cannot let Atalanta’s wide men play behind the central defenses, they cannot leave any central midfield runner un-tracked in the final third and the most definitely need to personally babysit Papu Gomez all match long.

What a way to end the season!

Team News

No injuries, no suspensions (save for Matias Vecino), this is how one needs to go into the most important match of the season. That said, Stefano Sensi will not make the squad yet.

Probable Line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Candreva, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Barella, Young; Lautaro, Lukaku

Stats

Last Season: Atalanta 4 – 1 Inter

Last 10 Head to Head: Inter hold an edge over Atlanta in the head to head wins, with four wins to two, but remarkably, the last time Inter managed to win in Bergamo was all the way back in 2015, and the time before that was in 2008. Inter do not travel well to Bergamo.

Keep an Eye on:

Lautaro Martinez: The Argentine striker’s wonder goal against Napoli is of enough quality to end any streak of poor form. The young Argentine will probably start the match alonside Romelu Lukaku, and if he’s on his early season form, expect Atalanta’s leaky defenses to be unable to contain him for the 90 minutes.

Officials

Referee: Piero Giacomelli.

Assistants: Peretti and Bindoni.

Fourth Official: Doveri.

VAR: Nasca and Mondin.

Prediction & Concluding Remarks

Prediction & scorers: Atlanta 2 – 2 Inter Lukaku and Lautaro to seal it for the visitors.

Concluding remarks: A very tough match that will test Inter’s will and desire to do something with the season. Expect Atalanta to manage to score more than a single goal, but the quality of Inter’s forwards will bring back the point to Milano giving Inter an 80 point tally for the first time in a decade.