Atalanta vs. Bologna 8/28/21 Serie A Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Atalanta is welcoming Bologna to Gewiss Stadium in round 2 of the Italian Serie A. Atalanta has been hot and cold lately, but they have won their season opener against Torino on the road. Bologna has also been hot and cold lately, and they have also won their season opener, against a much weaker opponent though.

Atalanta has been a bit sloppy on the defensive end lately, they have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 5 games. Offensively, Atalanta has done well so far, and they have been scoring goals pretty consistently. In their season opener against Torino on the road, Atalanta has had 52% of ball possession, 2 shots on goal, 1 corner kick, 1 big chance created, and 71% of the correct passes. After getting ahead in the 6^th minute, Atalanta was holding onto that lead until the 79^th minute when they conceded a goal. Luckily for Atalanta, they have scored a winning goal in the 93^rd minute, and this game has ended 1-2 in favor of Atalanta. Piccoli and Muriel have each scored 1 goal for Atalanta, while Ilicic and Pasalic added 1 assist each. Atalanta is a great team, but I feel like their defense will be a problem this season, but I think they have enough offense to compensate for that.

Bologna has been hot and cold lately, but they are in solid form, and they have lost only 2 of their last 6 games. Bologna ended last season in the middle of the table, and that is pretty much where I expect them to be this season as well. Bologna was playing against Salernitana last week at home, and they were the dominant team with 73% of ball possession, 7 shots on goal, 9 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and 84% of the correct passes. This game was the definition of rough, but we also saw a lot of goals alongside 3 red cards, and a whole bunch of yellow cards. Bologna has won this match 3-2. De Silvestri is the leading goalscorer for Bologna with 2 goals, while Arnautovic has added 1 goal. Santander is injured, while Soriano and Schouten are suspended because of the red cards. Bologna is an average team that can be tough to beat, but they can also be so bad that will concede a ton of goals against some of the weakest teams in the league.

When playing at home, Atalanta hasn’t lost in their last 10 games to Bologna, and they are definitely the better team here. Atalanta and the goals are the only way to go here.