Atalanta vs Fiorentina preview - Richards hoping to build on win

Posted Saturday, September 20, 2014 by PA

Fiorentina defender Micah Richards hopes his team can begin to build some momentum when they travel to Atalanta on Sunday after finally picking up their first win of the season.

Vincenzo Montella's men were able to breathe a big sigh of relief after beating Guingamp 3-0 in their Europa League opener on Thursday, having previously picked up only one point from their opening two Serie A games.

Richards made his Fiorentina debut in the win over Guingamp, and he said: "We are very happy with the result as it was crucial for us to win this game.

"Our fans were amazing and we deserved the win.

"This win gives us a big boost in confidence in view of our next game.

"I am delighted to have made my debut with the Viola and now I'm ready to play at Atalanta."

Richards, who joined the Florence outfit on a season-long loan from Manchester City last month, is expected to make his first Serie A appearance this weekend.

Atalanta head into the encounter at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium on the back of Sunday's 2-1 win at Cagliari.

That triumph followed their goalless result against Hellas Verona in their league opener and lifted the Bergamaschi to sixth place.

Atalanta coach Stefano Colantuono could not hide his delight.

"The three points at Cagliari are crucial for us in view of the challenging fixture list that awaits us," he said. "We had to suffer in order to beat Cagliari and it's wins like this one that give the team strength."

Atalanta travel to the San Siro to face Inter Milan on Wednesday before hosting defending champions Juventus three days later.

Mario Gomez, who has yet to score this season, is expected to start in Fiorentina's attack alongside Juan Guillermo Cuadrado.