Atalanta open their home campaign after a narrow 2‑1 win, but Maurizio Sarri’s side is heavily rotated — six of the club’s regular starters are missing, and the 4‑3‑3 will feature several unfamiliar faces. Bologna, also with seven regulars absent, arrive on the back of a 1‑0…
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Sign inAtalanta welcome Bologna on Monday evening for their second Serie A fixture of the 2026-27 campaign, with new head coach Maurizio Sarri still searching for a first home win at the helm. The match pits Sarri’s possession-focused rebuild against a Domenico Tedesco-led Bologna side that ended last season by winning 1-0 in Bergamo.
Sarri’s blueprint was visible in Atalanta’s goalless Conference League opener against Hapoel Tel Aviv, where Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori occupied the centre while Raoul Bellanova and Nicola Zalewski supplied the width. The final pass often hit a solid defensive block, and the coach will expect sharper combinations after a full week on the training ground. No fresh injuries are reported, so a similar XI is likely, with Marco Carnesecchi in goal and Kristovic ready to add a different threat from the bench.
Tedesco has reshaped Bologna’s attack following the summer departure of key forwards. The Rossoblu now lean heavily on Riccardo Orsolini, the team’s best chance creator near the penalty area, alongside summer signings Artem Dovbyk and Roberto Piccoli. Wide runs from Federico Bernardeschi and Jonathan Rowe are designed to give the side verticality when Tedesco demands high pressing. A lingering weakness carried over from last season is a vulnerability immediately after losing the ball in midfield, when Bologna can expose their centre-backs to quick shots.
Bologna’s end-of-season run included a 3-3 draw with Inter, a 1-0 win at Atalanta on 17 May, and a 3-2 away victory at Napoli. Atalanta’s final weeks were mixed: a 2-3 win at AC Milan, the 0-1 home defeat by Bologna, and a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina. Sarri’s task is to reverse that Bergamo result and inject consistency. Under his predecessor, the team often struggled to break down deep blocks at home; the 0-0 against Hapoel Tel Aviv suggested the problem has not yet been solved.
The contest on the flanks could decide the evening. Atalanta’s Bellanova and Zalewski will be asked to pin Bologna’s full-backs deep, while Bernardeschi and Rowe will look to exploit spaces behind those advanced runs. The Rossoblu’s chief vulnerability — quick opposition shots after a midfield turnover — is exactly the scenario Atalanta’s wing-backs try to create when they win the ball high up the pitch.
For Bologna, the new central pairing of Ducchi and Pedrasa (as reported for their opener against Lazio) will have to gel quickly against Scamacca’s physicality and Raspadori’s movement. Tedesco’s side took maximum points from this fixture four months ago by staying compact and striking on the counter, and a repeat performance would be a major statement.
Both clubs are still embedding new systems, but a second successive home defeat to Bologna would test the patience of Atalanta’s support. The Rossoblu travel with genuine ambition of claiming back-to-back away scalps before the international break arrives.
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