Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-05-21 19:00.
[p]The first finale of UEFA’s three club competitions takes us to the Dublin Arena in Ireland, which hosts the 15th UEFA Europa League (UEL) final between European final debutants Atalanta and the team who have constantly stolen the headlines this season, Bayer Leverkusen. Those in attendance will be witnessing history no matter the outcome, since Atalanta could become the first Italian side to lift the UEL trophy, while a 52nd unbeaten game of the season for Leverkusen (W42, D9) would leave the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions just one game shy of an unprecedented undefeated treble-winning campaign. [/p]
[p]Atalanta will be looking to be the villains in that fairytale, and Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have proven time and time again they’re capable of beating anyone in Europe, no matter where they hail from. La Dea’s knockout phase this season saw them beat some of the best that Portugal, England and France had to offer, after knocking out Sporting CP, Liverpool and Marseille to book their place in Dublin.[/p]
[p]Those results makeup half of a recent 12-game run in the UEL that features just one defeat (W7, D4), while scoring in all but two of their last 25 continental games just proves how dangerous they are. Atalanta also won the only previous two ties against Leverkusen, which came in this competition’s Round of 16 in 2021/22, and the fact they’re not favourites in this final with all those accolades proves just how truly unbelievable their German counterparts have been. [/p]
[p]There are few superlatives left to describe the achievements of Xabi Alonso’s men, whose 51 games unbeaten this season is a record for a top-flight European team, while their title triumph saw them become the first ‘invincibles’ in Bundesliga history. Making that 52 games would see them clinch European honours for only the second after lifting the 1988 UEFA Cup, and a 53rd game without defeat would truly launch Alonso into stratospheric stardom as a manager ahead of their final game of the season this coming weekend when they take on Kaiserslautern for the DFB-Pokal. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Atalanta’s Gianluca Scamacca scored five goals in this season’s UEL knockout rounds, extending his record of never losing when scoring in European competition (W7, D3). Attempting to steal the spotlight will be Leverkusen’s wonderkid Florian Wirtz, who has scored the match opener with three of his four UEL goals this season. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: The last three UEL finals have all gone to a penalty shootout.[/p]