Torino vs. Atalanta 9/26/20 Serie A Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Torino is welcoming Atalanta to Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in round 2 in the Italian Serie A.

Torino started the preseason well, but their form has been declining as of late. Torino hasn’t won any of their last 3 games, including their first Serie A game in the new season. Torino was playing against Fiorentina on the road in that game, and they have had 51% of ball possession in that game, 3 shots on goal, 1 corner kick, 1 big chance created, and 83% of the correct passes. Torino was defending well in this match, but as the game progressed, their focus dropped, and Torino conceded a goal in the 78th minute of the game. Torino has lost this match 1-0. Torino ended last season in 16th place with 40 points, and their defense was among the worst in the league, and sadly enough, Torino hasn’t done anything in the offseason to improve their defense. Offensively, Torino is a good team, but they are not in a good goalscoring form yet. I think Torino has the quality to a lot more than 16th place, but unless they fix their defense, Torino is looking at another season where they will be fighting to stay outside the relegation zone.

Atalanta has a fantastic last season where they ended up in third place in the standings with 78 points, 98 scored goals, and 48 conceded. Atalanta also hade a historical success in the Champions League where they reached the Quarterfinals, and they were only 5 minutes away from the Semifinals, but unfortunately for them, they ended up losing this match 1-2. Since that Champions League game, Atalanta hasn’t played a single game in the preseason. Miranchuk, Goliini, and Tumminello are all injured, while Djimsiti and Romero are suspended because of the yellow cards. Atalanta was active on the market in the offseason, and they have sold Castagne to Leicester City, while Mancini left for Roma. Pasalic was permanently signed by Atalanta, while Miranchuk arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow. Muratore and Romero both arrive from Juventus, while Piccini arrived on loan from Valencia. There were some more outgoing and incoming transfers, but nothing notable. The core of this Atalanta’s team has remained the same, and I think Atalanta will once again be in the title race this season, but the only problem I see at the moment is that Atalanta has no competitive rhythm, and that might be a problem in this early season. I like Atalanta, and I love their soccer style, and they are one of the few teams out there that are playing to score a goal more rather than conceded a goal less.

The trends are pretty equal here, and while Torino is in bad form, Atalanta hasn’t played a game in over a month. There is no doubt that Atalanta is the better team here, but I would give Torino a look here. Taking everything into consideration, I think I will pick something on goals here.