AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola believes Atalanta will provide his squad with a “really demanding” test when they lock horns on Saturday.
The established Serie A club will provide the opposition for Iraola’s first game in the Vitality Stadium dugout in the Cherries’ fourth pre-season friendly (3pm kick-off).
Since experienced head coach Gian Piero Gasperini took charge in 2016, Atalanta have not finished outside of the top eight in Italy’s top flight, coming third on three occasions.
Former Charlton and Everton striker Ademola Lookman led the goalscoring charts as they finished fifth last season, securing a place in the group stage of the Europa League.
The Cherries host the Bergamo-based outfit on the back of wins over Southampton and Hibernian and defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv in their first three friendlies.
Previewing the clash, Iraola said: “For us, it’s going to be a really demanding game and Atalanta will be a very attractive team to play.
“They have a very particular way of playing and all the players know it well. They will be a difficult team to beat because their system is very particular and the players know it perfectly.
“They are tactically very good and, with a very good coach in Gasperini, they have been playing the same way for a lot of years and have been very successful. They have played in the Europa League and Champions League and are in Europe again this season.
“Their players are physically ready for the way they want to play so it’s going to be tough for us but it’s good to face good players and a well-organised team during pre-season.
“There will be a lot of man-marking and one-against-one situations. They attack with a lot of players so, physically, it will be a good pre-season game because our players will suffer which is what you want to improve their limits and to test ourselves.
“Tactically, I don’t see a lot of English teams playing the way Atalanta play so it’s not going to be tactical preparation for the Premier League but, individually for the players, it’s a very good game to have.”
Goals from Dango Ouattara, Ryan Christie and David Brooks earned the Cherries a 3-2 win at Southampton on Tuesday, a game which Iraola felt his team had “improved a lot” in, backed by a vociferous travelling support.
“The general idea was there against Southampton,” said Iraola. “We need to improve physically to sustain the level we want for more minutes and we need to improve with set-pieces and all the things we know have to be better.
“It was an amazing atmosphere for an away game and it looked like we were playing at home because they were really supportive during the 90 minutes.
“It’s good for the players to feel the support and it’s going to be an important part for us. We have to make our home a really tough place to come and play and can do that with the help of the supporters.”
Iraola, who revealed he had this week visited Durdle Door on a day off and sampled fish and chips since arriving in Dorset, gave an injury update to the gathered media at a press conference at Vitality Stadium on Thursday.
He said frontman Antoine Semenyo had trained for the first time with the rest of the squad on Wednesday having recovered from a shin injury sustained at the end of last season.
Iraola said Lloyd Kelly “should be close for the beginning of the season” after suffering a calf injury during the warm-weather training camp in Marbella.
And on Marcus Tavernier, who hurt his knee in Spain, Iraola said the winger could be sidelined until the first international break in September but added: “We hope we can count on him before, but it’s going to be tough.”
Meanwhile, Iraola confirmed Ryan Fredericks had yet to resume training having sustained a calf injury last season.
Click here to buy tickets for the Cherries’ friendlies against Atalanta and Lorient.
