After three losses from their last four matches, Atalanta BC attempt to stop their season falling apart when they welcome Hellas Verona to Bergamo on Monday.
Out of the Europa League following a home defeat to RB Leipzig, the Nerazzurri have also stumbled in Serie A and are faced by visitors who have closed to within six points of them in the standings.
Match preview
Having lost their second successive game last weekend, to slip down to eighth place in Serie A, Atalanta have won just three of their last 14 outings in the Italian top flight.
Previously on the tails of the Scudetto contenders, Gian Piero Gasperini's side now face a tall task to secure their return to continental competition next season through a top-six finish, after following up a 3-1 home defeat to Napoli with last Sunday's 2-1 reverse at Sassuolo.
After their third away loss of the campaign, the Bergamaschi could now lose three Serie A matches in a row for the first time under Gasperini and have picked up a relatively modest total of 51 points so far this term - their worst return at this stage for four years.
In the intervening period, Atalanta have become an established force in Europe, but sitting four points adrift of sixth-placed Lazio - though still with a game in hand - their best chance of accessing the Champions League for a fourth straight season was surely by winning this year's Europa League.
However, La Dea lost out to Leipzig in a 2-0 home defeat last Thursday, which sent them out at the quarter-final stage and ended dreams of the club's first-ever European trophy.
After succumbing to Christopher Nkunku's double strike, they have now won only three of their last 10 European fixtures at the Gewiss Stadium, and their home record in Serie A is no better: ranking 13th in that regard this season.
Since Gasperini took the hotseat in Bergamo nearly six years ago, Verona have lost five of their seven Serie A encounters with Monday night's hosts, and they also failed to take anything from December's reverse fixture at the Bentegodi - going down to a 2-1 defeat.
Nonetheless, Hellas have apparently picked up the baton from an ailing Atalanta side as Serie A's entertainers from outside the established elite, and they are among the top five scorers from open play this season: joint-third on 45 goals; level with Inter and Sassuolo.
Igor Tudor's team have, though, also conceded goals in each of their last 20 away games in the league - the last time they kept a clean sheet on the road was a full year ago - and their defensive deficiencies were once again exposed by the reigning champions last time out.
Two down by the half-hour mark to Inter, the Scaligeri could not respond during the second half and were ultimately beaten 2-0 on home soil; suffering just a second loss from their last eight Serie A fixtures, both of which were against top-three sides.
That meant they lost their grip on ninth spot in the standings, slipping to 10th behind Sassuolo, but a win on Monday would take them to within three points of Atalanta and further secure a top-half place.
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Team News
Still expected to be without their injured captain on Monday, Atalanta will have Rafael Toloi consigned to the sidelines once again, while wing-back Joakim Maehle is also set to miss out.
Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon returns to domestic duty after serving a suspension versus Sassuolo and should start, but several others from the side which lost to Leipzig could be rested.
Luis Muriel, who last week scored his 25th Serie A goal as a substitute - a joint-record since the turn of the century with former Juventus striker Alessandro Matri - will therefore hope to feature up front ahead of Colombian compatriot Duvan Zapata.
Only recently back from injury, the latter has nine goals in the league this season and could become only the second player to hit double figures in each of his last six Serie A campaigns, alongside current Capocannoniere leader Ciro Immobile.
Verona, meanwhile, will be pleased to welcome playmaker Antonin Barak back into the fold for the trip to Lombardy, and the Czech international should start. Veteran midfielder Miguel Veloso is also in with a chance of completing his return.
While Pawel Dawidowicz and reserve goalkeeper Ivor Pandur remain out of action, Igor Tudor will otherwise have a fully fit squad at his disposal, with 16-goal top scorer Giovanni Simeone again leading the Gialloblu line up front.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Scalvini, Demiral, Palomino; Hateboer, De Roon, Koopmeiners, Zappacosta; Boga, Malinovskyi; Zapata
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Ceccherini, Gunter, Casale; Faraoni, Tameze, Ilic, Lazovic; Barak, Caprari; Simeone
We say: Atalanta BC 2-1 Hellas Verona
As neither side has proved themselves defensively secure in recent outings, there are likely to be goals in this contest - even if the hosts have struggled in that respect recently.
Atalanta's hapless home run must come to an end some time, and they will just edge this encounter against a mid-table Hellas team with little left to play for.
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