In the Champions League Round of 16 on February 17, 2026, Borussia Dortmund will face Atalanta. The hosts understand how important it is to win here.
The German side, having dismissed the disappointing Sahin last year, managed to return to the Bundesliga’s top four. Having exited the cup early, they are now focused on securing second place. Gasperini finished his tenure by leading his team to third in Serie A, but left Bergamo for Roma during the summer. Replacing him with Juric proved unsuccessful, yet things improved with Palladino, under whom Atalanta returned to the race for European competitions—though repeating last year’s result seems almost impossible.
Kovac’s team played entertaining football in the Champions League. Initially, they performed quite well: after five rounds they had three wins and only one defeat. However, they finished 2025 with just a draw against Bodo/Glimt, and in January, seemingly not trying, lost 0-2 to both Tottenham and Inter.
The Bergamo club started with a 0-4 defeat to reigning champions PSG. But they secured qualification before the calendar year ended, winning four times and drawing 0-0 with Slavia. Apparently believing their task was done, they lost last month to both Athletic (2-3 at home) and even Royal Union (0-1 away).
Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta: Key Statistics and Trends
Borussia Dortmund lost both of their last league games
The club scores an average of 2.38 goals and concedes 2.13
Atalanta lost both of their most recent league matches
The team scored and conceded an average of 1.25 goals
Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta: Probable Starting Lineups
Borussia Dortmund (probable lineup): Kobel – N. Schlotterbeck, Can, Mane – Bensebaini, Fabio Silva, Bayer, Bellingham, Nmecha, Ryerson – Guirassy
Atalanta (probable lineup): Sportiello – Ahanor, Hin, Kossounou – Bernasconi, Lookman, Samardzic, Ederson, Musa, Zappacosta – Krstovic
Previous Matches: Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta
The clubs met in the 2018 Europa League. The Germans won 3-2 at home and then drew the away match in Italy.
