Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini says Serie A is “very difficult and balanced this year,” and may tinker with his starting XI against Fiorentina.
La Dea travel to Florence tomorrow, with kick off at 14:00 GMT. You can read the match preview here.
Gasperini won the Panchina d’Oro this week for his work with Atalanta last season, but says it won’t change his approach to games.
Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini says Serie A is “very difficult and balanced this year,” and may tinker with his starting XI against Fiorentina.
La Dea travel to Florence tomorrow, with kick off at 14:00 GMT. You can read the match preview here.
Gasperini won the Panchina d’Oro this week for his work with Atalanta last season, but says it won’t change his approach to games.
“I have seen Fiorentina play in a certain way. They’ve brought in a few players in January,” said Gasperini in his press conference.
“All we can do is to be ready for all their variations. Winning the Panchina d’Oro doesn't change the way I approach matches!”
La Dea were expected to beat struggling Genoa last weekend, but the game ended in a 2-2 draw, and Gasperini says results like that can happen in Serie A this season.
“You have to take into consideration the opponent. Atalanta can do things, but it also depends on the opposition.
“There are strong teams, such as Verona and Lazio, Sassuolo and Roma also. Serie A is a very difficult league this season, and it’s balanced.
“We are doing what we can at the moment. If you come up against a side in top condition it becomes difficult.
“There aren’t 14 points between us and Fiorentina on the pitch.”
Gasperini then identified Federico Chiesa and Patrick Cutrone as players to look out for.
“Tomorrow we have to be very good in the defensive phase, we made some mistakes in that area against Genoa, this is a characteristic of our side, in certain games you have to be more precise.
“Chiesa and Cutrone are dangerous, if we play well, we’ll have a chance to win the game.”
Gasperini then stated that he could tinker with his starting XI against the Viola.
“I have to think about our attacking options. It is much more likely that Papu Gomez will play more further forward.
“Mario Pasalic and Ruslan Malinovskyi can replace Josip Ilicic or Duvan Zapata, but it’s something I have to think about, and it must be done game-by-game.”