Atalanta looking to hold off threat of chasing pack

Atalanta sit at the summit of the Serie A standings, but their time at the top could be under threat when they face Scudetto-chasing Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

Gian Piero Gasperini's side appear unstoppable, with a club record 11 successive league victories sending them soaring up the table to move two points clear of Napoli in second place.

It has been a historic year for Atalanta, who claimed their first trophy since 1963 following their triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final back in May.

They have also registered both their record number of wins (36) in a single calendar year in all competitions (since 1929-30) and their record number of goals scored (126).

But their stellar start this term has been helped by their star front line, with Atalanta the only team across Europe's top five leagues to have three players to score at least 10 goals this season, in Charles De Ketelaere (10), Ademola Lookman (12) and Mateo Retegui (14).

In fact, De Ketelaere is the highest-scoring Serie A player in 2024 in all competitions: 36 (20 goals and 16 assists), with the Belgian also scoring one of his three Serie A braces this year against Lazio in February.

However, up next in Serie A for Atalanta is Lazio, who have won 17 of their first 24 games in all competitions for the first time in their history (since 1929-30).

Marco Baroni's side have already turned heads with some of their results this season, including back-to-back wins against Napoli, then top of the table, in the Coppa Italia and Serie A.

Lazio have won their last two matches against the team that was in first place in the Serie A standings at the start of a matchday (against Napoli on MD15 and against Torino at MD6), as many wins as in the previous 23 matches against these opponents (W2 D3 L18).

They impressively bounced back after suffering a 6-0 thrashing at home to Inter by beating Lecce, and will move to within three points of the leaders if they can win.

Should Gasperini's side slip up on Saturday, Napoli and Inter will be ready to pounce, and both teams will be confident of doing so with matches against teams in the relegation zone.

A look at the table after matchday 17 pic.twitter.com/0gIzDP9Ot1

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 23, 2024

Inter, who play earlier on Saturday and have a game in hand on the teams around them, could move level on points with the leaders if they beat Cagliari.

The Nerazzurri have spent the most minutes in leading positions in Serie A this season (683) and have won the most matches (26 out of 37), scored the most goals (89), lost the fewest matches (two) and conceded the fewest goals (29) in the top-flight across 2024.

Napoli, meanwhile, have won their last two games since losing to Lazio, and they know they need to beat Venezia to keep the pace at the top of the table.

Their vast improvement from last season is well-documented, but Antonio Conte's side will be aiming to steady their home form again. They have lost two of their last three home games in Serie A (W1) after winning each of their first five home league games this season.

Juventus are the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but 10 draws leaves them sixth in the standings and nine points off top spot, with a tricky test against fifth-placed Fiorentina on Sunday, while Milan are well off the pace in eighth place. They welcome Roma on Sunday.