Pescara vs. Atalanta, Preview: Smooth seas never made a skillful sailor

Well. Um. What do we say about this one? Atalanta's most impressive win was against AC Milan, but now that we know anyone can defeat Massimilano Allegri's side, it's not so shiny. La Dea had trouble beating Siena last weekend, but in the end came back for a 2-1 victory. The club are still trying to figure out how to replicate Germán Denis's goal tally of last season -- he scored 16 in Serie A last year, while Atalanta have scored just 7 thus far. It looks like Luca Cigarini wants to step into the breach, but when you're dependent on a midfielder for all your goals, the season might not be a smooth one.

And the seas have certainly not been smooth for Pescara. Defeated in their first three matches, undefeated in their next three, it looks as though the dolphins are set for another run of three consecutive losses. This is another side that seems to have no clue how to manufacture goals -- they're tied with Palermo for least in the league, at 6. If they hadn't bought Vladimir Weiss from Manchester City during the summer, Pescara may already have been relegated.

Stroppa is at least amusing himself by changing the shape of his side for nearly every match, although he doesn't seem to quite understand that adapting a team's tactics to the opposition might be better than just blindly reaching into a hat and pulling out a formation shape.

Pescara Injuries and Suspensions

Alessandro Crescenzi (injured); Manuele Blasi (suspended)

Pescara won't be feeling the loss of Crescenzi, but they might miss Blasi -- although I can't imagine that Giovanni Stroppa is too thrilled with the fact that the midfielder has picked up a yellow card for each of his four Serie A appearances this season.

Atalanta Injuries and Suspensions

Gianpaolo Bellini, Davide Biondini, Michele Ferri, Ferreira Pinto and Ivan Radovanovic (injured); Carlos Carmona (suspended)

Carmona is suspended despite having no appearances in Serie A this season -- he managed the tricky feat of getting sent off from the bench last week at Siena. Although Atalanta's injury list looks long, any absent starters have been missing for at least a month, so they know how to cope.

Match Date/Time: Sunday, October 26 at 3 p.m. local, 10 a.m. ET (note: this is not a typo; the European clocks change this weekend while the U.S. waits until next weekend).

Venue: Stadio Adriatico, Pescara

TV: Premium Calcio, Sky Calcio 5 (Italy)