Two Serie A sides in desperate need of a domestic lift will clash at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo this Sunday evening, as Atalanta BC hosts a Fiorentina side mired in a full-blown crisis. The match, a key fixture in the 13th round of Serie A, pits a mid-table Atalanta against a Viola side flirting dangerously with the relegation zone, making this encounter far more than just another league game.
Atalanta, known as La Dea, arrive with momentum from European competition but a concerning domestic record. Under new manager Raffaele Palladino, they secured an impressive 3-0 away victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League midweek, with Ademola Lookman scoring and assisting in a dazzling five-minute blitz. However, back in Serie A, the story is starkly different. The Bergamaschi are winless in eight league matches, their last victory dating back to September, and with just 13 points from 12 games, this represents their worst start since 2014. Palladino, who won 24 games in charge of Fiorentina last season, is yet to secure a league win with his new club and will be desperate to break that duck against his former employers. The anticipated lineup sees Marco Carnesecchi in goal, with a back three of Odilon Kossounou, Isak Hien, and Berat Djimsiti. The attack is expected to be led by Gianluca Scamacca, supported by Charles De Ketelaere and the in-form Lookman, who has a strong record against Fiorentina with six goal involvements in five previous meetings.
Fiorentina’s situation is even more dire. Under coach Paolo Vanoli, the Tuscan club is without a league win this season, posting its lowest-ever points tally at this stage of a campaign. Their last Serie A victory came in May, and a seven-match winless streak across all competitions was extended with a 1-0 Conference League defeat to AEK Athens on Thursday. The team is struggling at both ends of the pitch, having conceded a league-high 10 set-piece goals while their high-profile strikers have misfired. Moise Kean, who scored 25 league goals last season, has found the net only twice this term, while veteran Edin Dzeko is yet to score in Serie A since his summer move. Injuries compound their woes, with Robin Gosens, Christian Kouame, and Tariq Lamptey sidelined, though Dodô has returned to the squad. Vanoli is expected to deploy a 3-5-2 formation with David de Gea in goal and a strike partnership of Kean and the Bergamo-born Roberto Piccoli, with Albert Guðmundsson likely starting on the bench.
The context of this Atalanta vs Fiorentina clash is one of contrasting pressures. For Atalanta, it’s an ‘ennesima occasione’—yet another opportunity—to translate European form into desperately needed domestic points and kickstart their league campaign before a demanding December schedule. For Fiorentina, the match represents a potential lifeline, a chance to find any positive spark before what Italian paper Repubblica calls a ‘month of fire’ against fellow strugglers like Sassuolo, Verona, and Udinese. The statistical backdrop is grim for the visitors; the last team to avoid relegation after being winless through 12 matchdays was Cagliari two decades ago.
Ultimately, this is a fixture where Atalanta’s rediscovered attacking verve, led by Lookman and Scamacca, meets Fiorentina’s fragile confidence and defensive vulnerabilities. While La Dea’s home form in 2025 has been poor, they appear perfectly positioned to exploit a wounded opponent. A victory for Palladino’s men could provide the catalyst for their season, while another defeat for Vanoli’s Viola would deepen an already severe crisis, making this Atalanta – Fiorentina showdown a pivotal moment in both clubs’ campaigns.