Atalanta visit Bruges for the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side ranked among the more impressive teams in the league phase, losing just once, but three draws meant they missed out on a desired top eight berth by a mere point. Their 2-2 draw with Barcelona on Matchday 8 was an excellent result in isolation, but it opened the door for Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa to beat them to the round of 16.
They head into Wednesday’s first leg having thrashed Hellas Verona 5-0 in Serie A at the weekend. A stuttering start to the new year has seen them lose ground in the Scudetto race, however.
Club Brugge squeezed into the play-offs on goal difference thanks to Paris Saint-Germain beating Stuttgart 4-1 on the final league phase matchday. Brugge were beaten 3-1 at Manchester City last time out in Europe, but their 11-point haul proved enough to see them advance.
Nicky Hayen should have a full complement of players available for Tuesday’s first leg.
We saw Brugge’s dynamic and speedy frontline cause Man City issues in their final league phase outing, and we could see an unchanged starting XI from the Etihad. Brugge faded after Hayen turned to his bench.
Gustaf Nilsson scored the game’s only goal in Brugge’s 1-0 domestic win at the weekend but is likely to drop to the bench in favour of Ferran Jutgla. Hugo Vetlesen is also vying for minutes in the middle of the park.
Club Brugge predicted lineup vs Atalanta (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele; De Cuyper; Onyedika, Vetlesen; Taibi, Vanaken, Tzolis, Jutgla.
Rui Patricio has enjoyed a run in the Atalanta XI with Marco Carnesecchi dealing with a muscle injury which could rule him out of Tuesday’s game. The former Wolves goalkeeper completed a Serie A shutout at the weekend in a dominant Atalanta win.
Ademola Lookman is dealing with a knee issue, while Giorgio Scalvini is nursing a shoulder injury. Both are doubts for the first leg but the former should be back next week. Daniel Maldini has almost immediately joined the injury list after arriving in January.
Atalanta predicted lineup vs Club Brugge (3-4-2-1): Patricio; Posch, Hien, Djimisiti; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; Samardzic, De Ketelaere; Retegui.
