Contemporary off a shocking 3-0 win at Serie A pacesetters Napoli, Atalanta resume their unbeaten UEFA Champions League marketing campaign in opposition to Stuttgart on Wednesday. Brimming with confidence after one other spectacular league triumph, Gian Piero Gasperini’s males head to the MHPArena to tackle final season’s Bundesliga runners-up.
on Sunday early afternoon. Ademola Lookman’s first-half brace set the tone for a outstanding triumph in Naples earlier than Mateo Retegui scored off the bench to seal the deal in second-half stoppages.
It was Retegui’s eleventh objective in Serie A this season, extending his lead within the Capocannoniere race to 4 on second-place Marcus Thuram of Inter. Extra importantly, Atalanta whittled down the hole on table-topping Napoli to solely three factors. La Dea pulled off their second consecutive away league triumph in opposition to the Partenopei for the primary time since 1997.
Following their confidence-boosting victory, Atalanta’s followers have loads to have a good time, each on and off the sphere. Alongside their unbeaten streak in Europe, followers searching for some further thrills can discover a , including to the thrill of their workforce’s stellar kind.
Gasperini’s males kicked off the Champions League’s newly formatted league section with a spirited 0-0 draw in opposition to Arsenal. Nonetheless, the identical scoreline held them winless in opposition to Celtic final trip, though Atalanta generated an eye catching xG of two.38 targets. Sandwiched in between was a 3-0 romping of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Should-Win Affair
Atalanta completed spherical three as one in every of solely 5 groups but to concede a objective on this season’s Champions League. Nonetheless, and Celtic. Retegui spurned a penalty in opposition to the Gunners, whereas Kasper Schmeichel delivered a match-winning efficiency to save lots of the Hoops.
In consequence, Atalanta enter Gameweek 4 two factors adrift of the automated qualification spots, highlighting the importance of defying their detached European report in opposition to German golf equipment. Certainly, the Italian giants have blown cold and hot throughout their 9 historic matches in opposition to Bundesliga opponents (W4, D3, L2).
Nonetheless, they gained the newest such fixture. Lookman’s hat-trick propelled Atalanta to an unprecedented Europa League win in opposition to Bayer Leverkusen in final season’s grand ultimate. It was solely their third clear sheet in 9 encounters in opposition to German sides, suggesting a win, regardless of a purple patch, isn’t a foregone conclusion.
Since Celtic miraculously held Atalanta at bay, Gasperini’s costs have gained three consecutive Serie A video games by an combination rating of 11-1, overcoming Napoli, Monza, and Hellas Verona. Given their perennial defensive struggles in opposition to the Germans, one other free-firing efficiency can be a fine addition.
Formidable Opposition
After going winless of their opening two Champions League outings in opposition to Actual Madrid (1-3) and Sparta Prague (1-1), Stuttgart surprised Juventus 1-0 in Turin on matchday three. Sebastian Hoeness’ aspect required stoppage-time heroics from former Atalanta ahead El Bilal Toure to take three factors on the Allianz Stadium.
But it surely was nothing lower than they deserved, contemplating they completely outplayed Thiago Motta’s workforce. That victory launched a three-game profitable streak in all competitions, just for Bayer Leverkusen to knock them down final Friday.
Nonetheless, Stuttgart confirmed their character by holding the defending Bundesliga champions to a 0-0 draw on the BayArena, protecting their spirits excessive forward of this thrilling showdown. As if that’s not encouraging sufficient, they’ve but to lose a aggressive sport on the MHPArena this season (W3, D3).
Prediction
Stuttgart’s scoring points have seen them bag exactly one objective in all three Champions League fixtures this season regardless of producing an xG of no less than 1.9 on every event. Subsequently, Atalanta can not afford to underestimate the German aspect’s attacking menace.
