Team expectations for next year ! (Atalanta)

On the 24th of August the 2013/14 Serie A season will begin. As per usual there will be 20 teams competing. Last year Pescara, Palermo and Siena were relegated down to Serie B and Sassuolo (Champions of Serie B), Hellas Verona (Runner up of Serie B) and Livorno (Play off winners) have taken their place in the top flight of Italian football. Over the next few weeks I will talk through every team in Serie A and say what I expect of them in the coming season. The first team I am going to analyse is Atalanta.

Last year Atalanta faced a rather frustrating season however overcome a number of big obstacles to finish 15th. They had to start the year with a six point deduction but surprisingly did well and pushed up the league table. But this good form wasn't to last long and in January some of their best players Federico Peluso and Ezequiel Schelotto left for more successful teams and this was the start of Atalanta's downfall and they only won five of their last twenty six games. Despite this they still managed to survive relegation rather easily.

I expect Atalanta to face a rather tough season next year. Their is lots of speculation around their star men such as Bonaventura, Denis, Consigli and Cigarini all receiving interest from top teams like Juventus, Inter, Milan and Fiorentina. If Atalanta lose all of these players next year then they will be straight down to Serie B but I dont not expect them to lose all of them. The main priority for Atalanta is to keep Bonaventura because he is a great young talent who is only going to get better and if they have him in their team then they will always be in with a chance of staying in Serie A. I do not expect Atalanta to challenge at all for the championship next year but I'm sure if they do not lose all of their star men then I expect Atalanta to safely be a Serie A side in 2014/15.

Expected finish = 12th - 15th