Atalanta – Venezia

Venezia will put up a fight against a struggling opponent

The poor start did not lead to any changes on Venezia’s coaching bench. Giovanni Stroppa kept his job despite five rounds without a point. The bosses of the “winged lions” can be understood, as they assessed not the result but the team’s performance. And the play of the “arancioneroverdi” does not raise that many questions. In the previous round, Venezia hosted Lazio. Stroppa’s side produced a powerful first half. The team had an excellent opportunity to score but failed to convert a penalty in the 17th minute. The situation on the pitch changed at the start of the second half. The Romans took the lead after converting a spot kick and doubled their advantage a few minutes later. Venezia’s subsequent attempts to score at least once came to nothing. Atalanta began the campaign only slightly better. The Bergamaschi have now gone three rounds in a row without earning any points. Their latest opponents were Juventus. The Turin side took the lead in the 28th minute, comfortably controlled the match, and doubled their advantage toward the end. In the previous round, Maurizio Sarri’s team lost to Cagliari. Although “La Dea” looked better than the islanders, it had no impact on the final score. Before that came a match against Roma. The “Wolves” outplayed their opponents in every aspect. The Giallorossi registered 39 shots against Carnesecchi’s goal, which nevertheless resulted in only a narrow one-goal victory. The Bergamaschi are the worst team in the league when it comes to creating big chances. Over five rounds, Maurizio Sarri’s side have created just three of them. The statistical metrics speak for themselves. Venezia have a considerable negative deviation in terms of xG. Statistically, the “winged lions” could have expected to collect 5.48 points. The club’s xG shortfall amounts to 5.03 goals. Despite having only six points to their name, “La Dea” should have earned slightly more than half as many points. Sarri’s team have overperformed their xG, while their xGA shows a shortfall of 3.7 goals conceded. This season, the Bergamaschi have secured just three victories, and each came by a one-goal margin. Three days after the match in question, “La Dea” will face Pafos in the Conference League, and three days later they will play Milan in the league. Such a tight and demanding schedule is unlikely to benefit a team already in crisis. Even if Venezia fail to pick up points, they are unlikely to lose by more than one goal.