Atalanta and Juventus will collide in Rome in the Coppa Italia Final on Wednesday evening.
In what has been a fantastic season to date, Atalanta have already booked a spot in the Europa League Final next week against unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
That was rounded off with a 2-1 victory over Rome last weekend which has them in the driving seat for a coveted Champions League spot as they are fifth in Serie A.
Of course, the fixtures have been piling up for Atalanta, but as far as Juventus are concerned, their form has nosedived, mustering just one win from their past seven matches in all competitions.
More worryingly, there have a few injury doubts ahead of the Coppa Italia Final for the Old Lady. That includes Mattia De Sciglio who has picked up a fresh muscular problem, while Danilo is still behind with his recovery process, but he will do his best to shake things off before the showpiece event.
Form book goes out of the window ahead of Cup Finals, but can Juventus arrest their recent malaise? I have scurried over to the betting markets and handpicked a couple of tips for your perusal.
Juventus trophy drought to continue
For a club of Juventus’ stature and history, to go nearly three years without adding some silverware to their trophy cabinet is bordering on unacceptable.
But to underline some of their struggles of late, Juve have drawn their past five Serie A games on the trot, of which two finished goalless.
In the other games that featured goals Juve have fallen behind and they have needed a late intervention to pull them out of the mire. If anything, the Coppa Italia Final is probably bigger for Massimo Allegri and salvaging his future.
Atalanta, meanwhile, aren’t accustomed to success, with their sole Coppa Italia success coming in 1963, and they have lost all four finals since, most recently to Juventus in 2021. Oh, and as a sidenote, there hasn’t been a clean sheet in the Coppa Italia Final since 2020.
Atalanta are in an upward trajectory, and this could be their time to hoist a major trophy.
So, for my first pick, I’m going to go with Atalanta to edge out Juventus and pinch the win. Paddy Power has an inviting 16/5 price for Atalanta to prevail by one goal.
Teun Koopmeiners to wrap up the win
Atalanta’s forwards have been firing on all cylinders this term, with three players registering 22 goal involvements.
Only Manchester City and Leverkusen (four) have more players who have more goal involvements in Europe’s top five leagues in all competitions this term.
Of Atalanta’s lethal triumvirate, Teun Koopmeiners has notched up 15 goals and seven assists, and he’s a man for the big occasion.
With a phalanx of big clubs likely to be sniffing around him in the summer, Koopmeiners will no doubt want to impress in a blue-riband final.
To wrap things up, I’m going with Koopmeiners to seal the win for Atalanta, and he’s available at a reasonable 6/1 with William Hill to grab the last goal of the game.
Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/95b7b397-ec07-49be-9275-53f658255162.jpeg)
