Atalanta sit at the top of the Serie A table but their time at the top could be in jeopardy when they face Scudetto chasing Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side look unstoppable, with a club record 11 consecutive league wins taking them up the table and two points ahead of Napoli in second place.
It has been a historic year for Atalanta, who claimed their first trophy since 1963 after beating Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final in May.
They have also recorded both their record number of wins (36) in a single calendar year in all competitions (since 1929–30) and their record number of goals scored (126).
But their great start this season has been helped by their star front line, with Atalanta being the only team in Europe's top five leagues to have three players scoring at least ten goals this season, in Charles De Ketelaere (ten), Ademola Lookman (ten) and Mateo Retegui (14).
In fact, De Ketelaere is the highest scoring Serie A player in all competitions in 2024: 36 (20 goals and 16 assists), with the Belgian also scoring one of his three Serie A braces this year against Lazio in February.
However, next in line for Atalanta in Serie A is Lazio, who have won 17 of their first 24 games in all competitions for the first time in their history (since 1929-30).
Marco Baroni's side have already turned heads this season with some of their results, including back-to-back wins against then-top Napoli in the Coppa Italia and Serie A.
Lazio have won their last two matches against the team in first place in the Serie A standings at the start of a matchday (against Napoli on MD15 and against Torino on MD6), as many wins as in the previous 23 matches against them opponents (W2D3L18).
They bounced back impressively from a 6-0 thrashing at home to Inter to beat Lecce, and will move to within three points of the leaders if they can win.
Should Gasperini's side make a mistake on Saturday, Napoli and Inter will be ready to pounce, and both teams will be confident of doing so with games against teams in the relegation zone.
A look at the table after matchday 17 pic.twitter.com/0gIzDP9Ot1
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 23, 2024
Inter, who play earlier on Saturday and have a match in hand against the teams around them, could move level on points with the leaders if they beat Cagliari.
The Nerazzurri have spent the most minutes in leading positions in Serie A this season (683) and have won the most games (26 out of 37), scored the most goals (89), lost the fewest games (two) and the fewest encountered. goals (29) at the highest level in 2024.
Napoli, meanwhile, have won their last two games since the defeat to Lazio, and they know they need to beat Venezia to keep up the pace at the top of the table.
Their huge improvement from last season has been well documented, but Antonio Conte's side will be looking to stabilize their home form again. They have lost two of their last three home games in Serie A (W1), having won each of their first five home games this season.
Juventus are the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but ten draws have them sixth in the standings and nine points off first place, with a tough test against fifth-placed Fiorentina on Sunday, while Milan are in eighth place lags far behind. They welcome Roma on Sunday.
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