Champions League: Atalanta Can Leapfrog the Blues

Atalanta vs Chelsea

Atalanta host Chelsea at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Tuesday in a mouth-watering clash which could see the two clubs change places.

At tenth and seventh in the Champions League table they are three places apart but only on goal difference, and that makes Champions League: Atalanta vs Chelsea a true six-pointer. La Dea can climb three points ahead of the Blues and equally, Chelsea can stretch their goal difference advantage to a three point lead should they escape Italy with a victory; and the Atalanta vs Chelsea betting odds give the Londoners a good chance.

But Atalanta have improved their form in recent weeks and that is reflected in their European progress. La Dea started with a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, then they recovered to beat Club Brugges 2-1 and draw 0-0 with Slavia Prague. And Raffaele Palladino’s men come into this game with back-to-back away wins in the Champions League, beating Olympique Marseilles 1-0 and Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 last time out.  

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea had a tough start too, losing 3-1 to German giants FC Bayern in their opener, before beating Benfica 1-0 and Ajax 5-1. The Blues had a frustrating 2-2 draw away to Qarabag, but then they picked up the result of the tournament so far when they shocked La Liga leaders Barcelona 3-0.

Balancing domestic and European priorities proved to be difficult for both clubs at the weekend, La Dea lost 3-1 away to strugglers Hellas Verona, while Chelsea were held to 0-0 draw by Bournemouth.  

 

Talking Points

Palladino wants a response

After three consecutive wins, across league and cup competitions, Atalanta threw in a shocker of a performance on Saturday in Verona. A win would have taken them up into the top half of the table and in touch with the European places, but they fluffed it at the Stadio Bentegodi and allowed Hellas to pick up their first win of the campaign in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

The hosts started the day rock bottom but flew into a 3-0 lead before Giancluca Scamacca scored a late penalty to give the score line some respectability for Atalanta…only just. Despite La Dea getting the rough end of some refereeing decisions Palladino was furious with his players, raging: “This performance is unacceptable.”

The boss can rely on leadership on the pitch from captain Martin de Roon. The 34 year old Dutch midfielder is an Atalanta stalwart and has provided a dependable base for the attacking sides in Bergamo in recent years. With superb positional sense the classy De Roon can control the tempo of the game and chip in with important goals, scoring 18 in his 280 games for the club. Wingback Davide Zappacosta is another experienced player in the leadership team and he too provides support for an attacking unit which features Belgian ace Charles De Ketelaere and former Fulham star Ademola Lookman.

Atalanta will always entertain.  

 

Chelsea’s striking dilemma 

The most notable thing about Chelsea’s match with Bournemouth was that the Blues failed to score a goal for the first time since August. Maresca’s side saw plenty of the ball, with over 60per cent possession, but the Cherries had more shots and more on target, and the hosts could easily have taken all three points. While Chelsea were boosted by the return of playmaker Cole Palmer, striker Liam Delap went off in the first half with a shoulder injury, to be replaced by 19 year old Marc Guiu, who struggled to make an impact.

Summer signing Joao Pedro has not hit the heights hoped, though these are still early days, and he started on the bench; but Maresca may be tempted to give the Brazilian the striking spot on Tuesday. Chelsea do have some exciting young forwards in Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao and Jamie Gittens, and there’s no lack of fight in this team as they showed when they held Arsenal to a draw, with ten men after Moises Caicedo had been sent off. But to transform this highly talented squad into a trophy winning team Maresca needs a number nine.    

 

History

This is the first time these two clubs have met in the Champions League so, with no head to head Atalanta vs Chelsea results to work with we can only rely on recent form.

La Dea have won three and lost three of their last six outings while Chelsea have won three, drawn two and lost one; but the Italians have been stronger over the last four games with three wins to Chelsea’s one.  

 

Betting Tip

Atalanta are at SBOTOP odds of 3.15 to win this game with the draw priced at 3.30 and Chelsea are the favourites at odds of 2.10. But I think the hosts have the momentum to add to their home advantage and I’m backing La Dea to get a result.

   

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