With Papu Gomez frozen out, Atalanta rely on Duvan Zapata and Ruslan Malinovskyi in this head-to-head with Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Roma.
It kicks off at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo at 17.00 GMT.
With Papu Gomez frozen out, Atalanta rely on Duvan Zapata and Ruslan Malinovskyi in this head-to-head with Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Roma.
It kicks off at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo at 17.00 GMT.
La Dea are in turmoil after the row between coach Gian Piero Gasperini and captain Papu Gomez reached its height with news the club had agreed not to call the Argentine up for this game.
He is now on the market and to all intents and purposes his career in Bergamo is over, although it’s reported he wants to stay in the Lombardy area, making Milan the favourites.
Mario Pasalic, Mattia Caldara, Cristiano Piccini and Matteo Ruggeri are injured, with Josip Ilicic back in the squad after a throat infection.
Ruslan Malinovskyi and Matteo Pessina therefore support Duvan Zapata, with Luis Muriel ready to come off the bench and shake things up in the second half.
As this is the last home game before the break, Atalanta are wearing their special edition Christmas jersey, which will be auctioned for charity.
Roma are on fine form and hunting for a top four finish, having narrowly missed out last season.
The only remaining absentees are Nicolò Zaniolo and Javier Pastore, but Lorenzo Pellegrini is able to start despite a recurring ankle problem.
Pedro Rodriguez returns with Mkhitaryan to support Dzeko upfront, while Antonio Mirante is also back from injury in goal rather than Pau Lopez.
There are several former Atalanta players in the Giallorossi squad, including Leonardo Spinazzola, Roger Ibanez, Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante.
Atalanta: Gollini; Toloi, Romero, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Gosens; Pessina, Malinovskyi; Duvan Zapata
Roma: Mirante; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Pellegrini, Veretout, Spinazzola; Pedro, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko
Ref: Di Bello