Atalanta against Empoli for a Christmas at the top
We are playing for the lead, but also for the fourteenth auction of the 'Christmas Match' shirts. Atalanta, on Sunday at 6pm at the Gewiss Stadium against Empoli, first of all does not want to lose the lead of the table, never before held for three consecutive rounds, in view of the end of the calendar year on 28 December by Lazio and of a January full of dangerous crossroads, including the last two of the Champions League championship phase. But it also offers fans the special shirt, stylized with the external facade of panels that change from gray to black passing through the blue of the two curves of the stadium: from Monday, offers and raises in favor of the Friends of Paediatrics association. On the pitch, after the awarding of Gian Piero Gasperini as the best coach of the month of November in the Serie A League, the Nerazzurri will not be willing to give discounts, constantly chasing new records. Having achieved their tenth consecutive championship victory in Cagliari, they are perfectly aware of the significance of a possible eleventh: the last to have achieved this, Inter in 2020-2021 and Napoli in 2022-2023, then won the scudetto. Among the other club records, the 12 matchdays won out of the first 16. Among the individual ones, Retegui holds the one for participation in goals, 12 plus 3 assists, while Lookman, with a total of 32 in his Atalanta experience, is aiming for Simy's 34 which would be worth second place among Nigerian top-flight scorers, but far from Osimhen's 65. After having fielded only 5 starters in the starting lineup on Wednesday in the Italian Cup against Cesena, the coach finds Ruggeri, who has recovered from the blow to his right foot in Cagliari, and also the trio of untouchables Kolasinac-Ederson-Lookman who were rested in the midweek match. The only absence, excluding the injured Scalvini and Scamacca, is the suspended De Roon, replaced in the middle by Pasalic, with Samardzic appearing in the ballot for the offensive trident on the basis of his personal braces each together with De Ketelaere in the 6-1 against the Romagna players. Gasperini aims to keep the top spot, also because in the first month of the new year, upon returning from the Italian Super Cup in Ryad, a good portion of the season could be decided. In fact, from 11 to 29 January, Atalanta will go to Udine and then host Juventus, Napoli and Sturm Graz awaiting the proof of truth in Barcelona with the Champions League round of 16 ticket up for grabs.
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