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By Anthony Nlebem.
Nigeria international Ademola Lookman will be aiming to extend his impressive start to the 2022/23 season as Atalanta welcome Serie A strugglers Sampdoria to the Gewiss Stadium on Saturday.
While the Nerazzurri shared six goals with Juventus in a thrilling contest last weekend, Blucerchiati slumped to their fourth straight loss in all competitions.
Super Egles winger Lookman has been a standout player for Atalanta in Serie A this season and bagged a brace in Atatanta’s 3-3 draw against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium last weekend.
The 25-year-old brilliant form has been essential in helping Gian Piero Gasperini’s side push for a spot in Europe next season.
With 11 goals and four assists in 18 league appearances, Lookman has had a hand in 14 of Atalanta’s 37 goals so far in 2022/23, making him the second most prolific scorer in the league behind Nigeria team-mate and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen who has notched 13 goals.
The Nigeria international’s 10th and 11th goals of his debut campaign helped Atalanta to a 3-2 lead heading into the final half-hour of a lively affair, but Danilo’s equaliser hauled Juve level and denied La Dea all three points.
Nonetheless, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have now racked up 16 goals in their last three games; keeping them on the trail of Serie A’s top four and seeing them through to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals too.
Atalanta played out a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw with Juventus to make it four games without a loss in Serie A.
While the Nerazzurri have recorded the most goals across the top 10 European leagues in January, the Blucerchiati have scored the fewest in Serie A since the turn of the year – a mere two.
Indeed, Saturday’s hosts have also fired home the most goals from outside the box this season (eight) – as many as Sampdoria have scored in total.
Despite securing a point in their last game Atalanta will be desperate to make an immediate return to winning when they play Sampdoria.
The race for the top four is going to be extremely competitive so every dropped point could be significant but with Sampdoria losing their last three league games they were edged by Udinese, the hosts should be able to make it three wins in four.