Roma vs Atalanta: predicted lineups, where to watch and our prediction
Tonight at 20:45 at the Olimpico, with Roma on eight goals scored and none conceded and Malen already on five in two rounds. Predicted lineups, who is missing, where to watch and our read.
Roma vs Atalanta is played on Saturday 5 September at 20:45 at the Stadio Olimpico, closing the Saturday of matchday 3 in Serie A.
It is one of six games between sides still on maximum points, but they got there differently. Roma have won twice 4-0, against Fiorentina and at Lecce: eight goals scored and none conceded, the best record in the division. Atalanta have the same six points but took them narrowly, 2-1 against Sassuolo and 1-0 at Bologna through Samardžić in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Where to watch
In Italy the game is shown on DAZN and Sky Sport, with streaming on NOW and Sky Go. It is the only one of today's three Italian games also available on satellite: Fiorentina-Torino and Inter-Napoli are DAZN only.
Who is missing
Atalanta are without Isak Hien and Kamaldeen Sulemana. Hien's absence is the one that bites, and the back line reshapes with Kristensen and Scalvini in the middle.
Roma have no announced absence affecting the predicted eleven.
The predicted lineups
Roma (3-4-2-1)
Mile Svilar in goal; Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka and Mario Hermoso in the three; Nahuel Molina and Wesley wide, Manu Koné and Bryan Cristante in the middle; Paulo Dybala and Rodrigo Mora behind Donyell Malen.
Atalanta (4-3-3)
Marco Carnesecchi in goal; Raoul Bellanova, Thomas Kristensen, Giorgio Scalvini and Lorenzo Bernasconi at the back; Lazar Samardžić, Gianluca Gaetano and Éderson in midfield; Charles De Ketelaere, Gianluca Scamacca and Jonathan Rowe ahead.
Predicted lineups can change until an hour before kick-off, when the official teamsheets are released.
Our prediction
We say Roma to score at least once. It looks like the easy read and it is actually the one the head-to-head argues with most: Atalanta have won twice at the Olimpico in recent seasons, and the last meeting in April finished 1-1.
The reason we keep it is the form. Eight goals in two games is not one freak afternoon but an attack finding more than one route, and Atalanta arrive without Hien in a back line that has already conceded once in two rounds and won both games by a single goal.
On the result we do not commit. Between these two the game has almost always turned on one incident, and Atalanta are the side who have won more often in recent years.
The individual call
Donyell Malen — at least 3 shots. It is the individual call we are most confident about all round, and the reason is one number: five goals in two games, a hat-trick against Fiorentina and two more at Lecce. He starts through the middle in a side building its play around him, and anyone scoring at that rate is getting to the shot far more often than he finishes.
Then we count it
When the round closes we publish the tally with nothing removed. The record of every settled call is in the results history.
Our analysis stays updated until kick-off on the Serie A page, and the individual calls are in the Player Predictions section.
