Atalanta vs Celtic prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-22 16:45.
[p]Atalanta are struggling to register Serie A clean sheets on a regular basis, but on the UEFA Champions League (UCL) stage they were one of just six teams not to have conceded a single goal across the two opening matchdays (W1, D1). They justified their strong favouritism against Shakhtar Donetsk with a 3-0 win on matchday two that followed a handy 0-0 draw in their opener against Arsenal. [/p]
[p]Now they’ll be competing for points with a Scottish club for the first time ever and will be hoping they can maintain their perfect defensive record in this league phase to assist an attacking unit that hasn’t struggled to score in Bergamo. Atalanta piled on an impressive 15 goals across their last six home games across all competitions, and their shutting out of Venezia (2-0) at the weekend suggests it could finally be coming together. [/p]
[p]Celtic are still licking their wounds from one of the most dramatic turnarounds in UCL history, when a 5-1 win at home to Slovan Bratislava was followed up with a humiliating 7-1 loss at Dortmund. They became the first team since Welsh club Cwmbran Town in 1997 to concede five first half goals in a UEFA match, and the effects of the defeat appear to still be lingering. [/p]
[p]Their Scottish title defence suffered a setback at the weekend when they failed to convert a 2-0 half-time lead on home turf into victory against Aberdeen. Manager Brendan Rodgers blamed a “careless” approach to the second half in addition to a lack of continued aggression following their two first-half goals, and considering that lapse came just three weeks after their previous UCL outing, Celtic do appear to be well below their best at present.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: It’s always hard to look past Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman on home soil, where 15 of his last 19 competitive goals were scored. Kyogo Furuhashi maintained his superb goal scoring form at the weekend and he has now scored Celtic’s first or second goal on four separate occasions in all competitions this season. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Celtic have lost each of their last six UCL away fixtures, conceding an average of 4.17 goals per game in that period. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]