One of the early Wednesday Champions League games puts Shakhtar Donetsk against a very troubled Atalanta side who are experiencing issues and trying to find some stability in their game. Having this in mind, Shakhtar will likely mount an offence for the 3 points against the second Italian team they will play in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
Shakhtar Donetsk Team News
The Ukrainian outfit has gotten used to their nomadic lifestyle as it has been some time now since they were able to play in Donbass due to political issues. However, this doesn’t seem to have had such an enormous effect as Shakhtar makes the Champions League proper regularly. However, the Pitmen will look to make the jump to the next stage of the tournament as this is something that has eluded them in the last 6 group/league phases in which they took part. Against Atalanta, the team will have a hefty task, as their record versus Italian opposition is rather bleak. Shakhtar also failed to win their most recent league game, reaching only a 1-1 draw with Veres. What could work to their advantage, though, is the issues Atalanta is currently going through.
Atalanta Team News
Speaking of La Dea, Gian Piero Gasperini is fighting an uphill battle to get his team in order and return to the usual level the football world is accustomed to. This is after all the team that won the last edition of the Europa League and won it in fashion. But the start of this season has been nothing short of horrendous for Atalanta, who have just 2 wins in their competitive games. A fantastic comeback to Fiorentina and a draw with Arsenal might have been considered the team bouncing back, but what followed was a disappointing loss to Como and a draw with Bologna. Yet, despite that Atalanta’s games tend to feature a plethora of goals, scored both by them and their opponents.
Head-to-Head-Games
Shakhtar and Atalanta have played against one another on 3 occasions, 2 of them being in the Champions League and the remaining one a friendly. Each team has a win to their name in the Champions League fixtures, with both of those matches featuring over 2.5 goals.
Shakhtar Donetsk – Atalanta Betting Prediction
I think that both teams will find the goal here and that will be my pick. Despite Atalanta’s troubles in securing games, they do manage to score goals regularly but are let down all too often due to their defence. Shakhtar will likely try to exploit this, but they too are prone to conceding fairly often. Additionally, from a historical standpoint, they also do not fare quite well against Serie A opposition – 61 conceded versus only 21 scored across their last 32 such games. With that in mind, my pick here is for both teams to score.
Betting Tip: Both Teams To Score: Yes
Bookmaker: Sportsbet.io
Odds: 1.74
Sportsbet.io
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