UEFA Champions League: Atalanta vs. Liverpool Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atalanta vs. Liverpool is the matchup expected by all those who love high-efficient football, with lots of action and goals. These two sides emphasize their offensive potential and frequently provide stunning results, where we see five, six, or seven scores. Sometimes, even more. We can’t say that Gasperini and Klopp don’t mind about defense, but simply, attack in their philosophy of play holds a much higher position in the hierarchy. It will be very interesting to see Atalanta’s response following a shaky period in which this team didn’t perform as expected.

Preview

Atalanta (+210) defeated Crotone with 1-2 this Saturday, ending a two-game negative skid during which they couldn’t win. At first, Sampdoria shocked La Dea in Bergamo, 1-3, before playing 2-2 vs. Ajax in the Champions League.

Though, we need to add that Atalanta came back from behind against the Dutch powerhouse, as they trailed at halftime, 0-2. It was Duvan Zapata who scored twice, getting one point to his team.

October was a shaky period for La Dea, especially the second part of this month. Their schedule was tight, playing five matches in 14 days, losing three, and picking up two wins and a draw.

Since the start of the campaign, they played eight games, each one saw over 2.5 goals, just one didn’t end with both teams scoring, and only one stayed under 3.5 goals.

Liverpool (+110) won four straight, looking consolidated following Virgil Van Dijk’s season-ending injury. The Reds defeated Ajax on the road, 0-1. Sheffield Utd 2-1, Midtjylland, 2-0 and West Ham, 2-1 all at home.

Klopp is struggling with injuries as both Fabinho and Joel Matip won’t play against Atalanta. That means that the center-back position in the Reds’ back line could be very vulnerable this Tuesday.

Against the Hammers, we saw several situations that aren’t characteristic for this side, and among them, disorganization in the midfield was one. At certain points of the contest, Liverpool was chaotic in the middle of the pitch, which could be the consequence of Van Dijk’s absence.

Latest News

Atalanta will have several players sidelined for this game. Caldara, Hatebouer, Toloi, and Romero are out for sure, and that will present a problem for Gasperini. De Roon is doubtful but not expected to play.

As for Liverpool, Fabinho is out 100%, the same as Van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Thiago Alcantara is under a question mark, and if he recovers until the start of the match, the Reds defense will receive a massive boost. Naby Keita, Matip, and Tsimikas are all questionable.

Head to Head Games

There haven’t been any clashes between La Dea and the Reds recorded in the past.

Prediction

We already revealed our intention here when it comes to betting. A high number of goals is in focus, and we aren’t going to look for anything else.

Both teams to score and over 3.5 goals is priced at +110, while one other pretty realistic pick is slightly cheaper. Over 1.5 HT at +105. You can experiment with all sorts of markets that include high scoring, because of the above-mentioned philosophy of play both Gasperini and Klopp prefer.