Atalanta vs Udinese preview - Kone expecting Atalanta 'battle'

Panagiotis Kone is anticipating a "great battle" when reinvigorated Udinese visit Atalanta on Sunday afternoon.

The Greek midfielder played 90 minutes as the Bianconeri snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Torino 3-2 at the Stadio Friuli last weekend, and his team-mates can now start looking at the top half of the Serie A table.

But Atalanta are also steadied following the arrival of new head coach Edy Reja, who secured a point from a goalless draw at Parma during his debut on the Bergamaschi bench.

Kone believes the home side will be desperate for a first win under the veteran tactician as they look to pull away from the relegation zone.

"The game will be a great battle," he told udinese.it . "They are very tough at home, the stands are close to the pitch and their fans are very vocal.

"The players will do anything they can to win, so we have to be humble - but eager - if we are to win.

"We have to be organised and crafty, in what could be one of the most difficult games of the year.

"We must never rest easy: when we lower the intensity of our game we are only fooling ourselves.

"It will be tough in Bergamo and we should not underestimate them."

Udinese boss Andrea Stramaccioni will be missing the injured trio of Maurizio Domizzi, Giovanni Pasqual and Ivan Piris while Atalanta counterpart Reja is without Marcelo Estigarribia, Cristian Raimondi and Davide Zappacosta.

Former Lazio coach Reja, who is now 69, is working hard to eliminate the fear factor from the dressing room as his side look to move up from 17th in the table.

"The team is still frightened and playing with the handbrake on a little bit," he told La Repubblica Sport.

"Psychologically the team are suffering because of their place in the table.

"There are a lot of games ahead of us and it is important that the team improves. We have to increase the pace and intensity if we are going to get better."