View from the Opposition: Atalanta

Sunday's game gets underway at 18:00 CET.

First of all, what’s going on with Alejandro Gomez at Atalanta?

“Relationships start and finish, and people move on. Atalanta have been around for 113 years and they’ll survive without Gomez. The facts are well known: the coach gave Gomez some instructions and he didn’t carry them out. Only they know what happened in the dressing room afterwards. I’ve said since day one that the split is irreparable. That’s it.”

Josip Ilicic was another key player for Atalanta last year. How’s he doing now?

“Due to his personal problems initially and then because he struggled to get fit again, Ilicic has basically been missing since the 4-3 win at Valencia. His only recent spark was the goal against Liverpool. Now he’s got flu so he’ll miss Roma. Things have changed for Ilicic too and Atalanta have to move on. We’ll see what happens in future.”

Atalanta’s form seems to be more erratic than last season.

”They’re paying the price for their European exertions. They performed some extraordinary feats away from home to reach the Champions League knockout stages, but they haven’t had any really bad games except for the one against Napoli. They’ve been less of an attacking force – that’s why they’ve had a few so-so results. They seem to be back on track now though.”

Do you think Gasperini might make any surprise changes to his starting line-up on Sunday?

"It’s impossible to tell with Gasperini. Training takes place behind closed doors and nobody from within the club leaks any information. At a guess, I’d say [Matteo] Pessina will start in place of Gomez, but Gasperini always has a few surprises for the opposition up his sleeve.”

Who is the most important player for Atalanta at the moment?

"They’re missing [Duvan] Zapata’s goals. A lot depends on him. [Cristian] Romero is doing very well. It will be interesting to see how he fares against [Edin] Dzeko.”

Are you worried about the form Roma are in?

“Roma are a good team. They play good football and they’re picking up points. However, Atalanta want European football again – perhaps not a top-four finish but the top seven at least.”

Which Roma player do you think Atalanta fans are most worried about?

“I’m a big fan of [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, but I’m not Gasperini. As I said before, it should be a great battle between Romero and Dzeko.”

What’s your prediction for the game?

“Before the Fiorentina match, I was hoping for seven points before the Christmas break. We’ve got four and there are two games left, against Roma and Bologna. Seven aren’t enough anymore – we want eight. One against Roma and three against Bologna would be fine, but of course winning this head-to-head against Roma would be even better!”