The Italian Job moves to Atalanta later this evening where two fiery Super Eagles will try to outsmart each other for full maximum marks, IKENWA NNABUOGOR would tip the Eagle from Naples Victor Osimhen to continue his all-conquering ways…
Atalanta, meaning ‘Equal in weight’ in the Greek mythology, is a heroine, but Atalanta in this context is the venue of the matchday 13 of the Italian Seria A fixture welcoming the league leaders Napoli in this mother of all games in the Italian top flight.
The exchanges tonight will determine whether the myths will hand the “heroes” victory to the hosts who are arriving with colourful record and intimidating results.
Interesting is this matchup that pitches up two of the league’s most lethal hitmen who are also Eagles from Nigeria – Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and hosts’ leading scorer, Ademola Lookman leading their charges to maintain their stranglehold on the summit of the log.
Napoli are currently league leaders, on 32 points, five points ahead of Atalanta, deputizing on 27 points, and both teams will heavily rely on their Nigerian goal bursters to make the game safe for either of the two league giants.
Osimhen is currently joint top scorers with seven goals, two goals better than Lookman, who lies joint seventh best on the scorer’s chart and will be looking forward to hitting a double or a hat trick to upstage Osimhen and Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic on the scorers’ chart.
Osimhen is smoking at the moment and still looking hat-trick-happy and could be following up on another hat-trick should the Atalanta defence let him have his way.
Osimhen’s been looking sharper and deadlier since he returned from injury, bursting the nets, assisting and harrying defences and of course, courting the troubles of the men in black, whose whistles have caught him straying into the enemies’ lines recklessly.
Welcoming his compatriot, Lookman, in their first-ever career meeting at club level, Osimhen is still looking unstoppable and it will take the Atalanta defence keeping close surveillance on him to stop him from making hay.
Hitting his Seria A first ever hat trick the penultimate weekend against Sassuolo funnily enough in the wake of infantile media comparison talks with team mate and Italian upstart Giacomo Raspadori, Osimhen silenced the critics to remind them the comparison was premature and hasty.
He isn’t keeping the spirits back at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium this evening and bad news to Atalanta of they decide to put their guards down for the Napoli and Super Eagles’ talisman to increase his tally, keep his side firmly on top and ultimately add more figures to his value in the transfer market.
Lookman, playing outside of his England “home” for the second time after tasting German football at RB Leipzig, isn’t looking like a Serie A first timer, getting off the mark as soon as he was done signing the transfer papers and could poop Napoli’s party once again with his sublime but timely finishes.
Interesting Lookman isn’t Atalanta’s top striker, but has consistently popped up to win games for his new side and adding to his tally against the league leaders won’t be a bad idea.
Proving to be scoring attacking midfielder, Lookman is also deadly at assisting as well as dead balls and could end the game as the Napoli killer, who knows?
Still very much interesting from the wings, though tactically limiting from operating from the wings, Lookman has proved his versatility by quickly adapting to a new role under manager Gian Piero Gasperini, who’s giant- killing acts have installed Atalanta as one of the feared clubs in Italy and Europe.
Napoli, with the full confidence of the bookmakers, appear the hot favourites to nick this but will find Atalanta tough hosts to contend with judging by their uncompromising tactical game and could frustrate the league leaders and leave them returning to Naples empty handed.
Osimhen’s style hasn’t changed yet, he’s still enjoying himself keeping Italian Seria A hatchet men busy, though Liverpool defenders would shut him out in their last game at Anfield in a UEFA Champions League group final game, sending them back to Naples 2-0 with the knockout round ticket already in the bag, he’s still his deadly lethal self that Atalanta must be wary of.
Currently ranked fourth best striker in Europe, behind Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mpappe, and averages a goal in every 93 minutes, Osimhen will definitely prove his current rating to improve his goal average.
It will remain to be seen which Super Eagle will triumph tonight.
