Comments and predictions for Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge: Exposing the shirt on Italian soil
The match between Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge in the Champions League takes place at 3:00 a.m. on February 19. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes performance, makes football comments and predicts the score.
Latest Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge squad information
Atalanta go into the game with significant deficits in defence with Odilon Kossounou and Giorgio Scalvini both absent. The attack is also without the support of Gianluca Scamacca.
Ademola Lookman's health is also a major concern for the team, as he has missed the last six games due to a knee problem.
Daniel Maldini and Sead Kolasinac are both doubtful ahead of the return leg, while Ibrahim Sulemana is also a doubt after being substituted early against Cagliari.
Gasperini has made changes to the squad that played in Saturday's goalless draw ahead of Tuesday's crucial clash, with Rui Patricio, Berat Djimsiti, Raoul Bellanova, Marten de Roon, Ederson, Davide Zappacosta and Charles De Ketelaere expected to return to the starting line-up.
As for Club Brugge, they may have to play without the services of defender Bjorn Meijer, who has not played in the last six matches due to injury.
Manager Nicky Hayen is likely to bring Raphael Onyedika and Tzolis back into the starting line-up, after making a number of changes at the weekend.
Onyedika is likely to partner Ardon Jashari in central areas, with Tzolis taking on an attacking role on the left flank after scoring a crucial goal off the bench at the weekend.
Jutgla is likely to lead the line, after scoring his first European goal of the season in the first leg.
Latest predicted lineup Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge
Atalanta BC:
Patricio; Posch, Hien, Djimsiti; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Retegui
Club Brugge:
Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Jashari, Oyedika; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutgla
Latest football commentary Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge
Seeded by virtue of finishing ninth in the group stage, Atalanta play the second leg at home. However, missing out on a direct ticket to the last 16 will surely be a disappointment for Gian Piero Gasperini's side. Despite being seventh going into the final round, a 2-2 draw with Barcelona has seen them drop into non-qualification.
In the first leg against Club Brugge, Mario Pasalic's equaliser in the 41st minute gave Atalanta hope of a draw after going behind to an early goal from Ferran Jutgla. But the drama came in the final minutes, when Club Brugge were awarded a controversial penalty. The decision that Isak Hien had fouled Gustaf Nilsson was confirmed by VAR, and Nilsson made no mistake, handing Atalanta their first away defeat in European competition this season. They now have to come from behind to reach the last 16 for the third time in Champions League history.
Atalanta's disappointing run continued as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday, further undermining their title challenge. They are now third, five points behind leaders Inter Milan.
Atalanta will need to work hard to win a Champions League knockout tie for the second time in their history. Their recent home form has been poor, with just one win in their last six games in all competitions.
Club Brugge qualified for the knockout stages in dramatic fashion by finishing 24th in the group stage, ahead of Dinamo Zagreb (25th) on goal difference.
The Belgian champions have won three, drawn two and lost three of their eight group games, with home wins over Aston Villa and Sporting Lisbon. Last week's narrow win over Atalanta extended their unbeaten run at home in European competition to four games, ending a run of 15 games without a win against Italian sides in UEFA competition.
Despite failing to win against Sint-Truiden in their domestic league match on Saturday, Club Brugge can be satisfied with a 2-2 draw after falling two goals behind, thanks to goals from Hans Vanaken and Christos Tzolis in the 90th minute. The result extended their unbeaten run to four consecutive matches.
Club Brugge's last trip to Italy was a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan in October, their seventh defeat in their last 11 away trips to Serie A sides (W1 D4).
However, Club Brugge's task this time is somewhat simpler: they just need to avoid defeat to secure a ticket to the last 16. They can also be confident of an impressive statistic: they have advanced to the next round in 14 of their last 16 times winning the first leg at home in European competition.
Latest Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Atalanta BC vs Club Bruggeas follows:
- Sportsmole:Atalanta BC 3-2 Club Brugge
- WhoScore:Atalanta BC 3-0 Club Brugge
- Our newspaper predicts:Atalanta BC 3-1 Club Brugge
When and where to watch Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge live?
To watch the live match Atalanta BC vs Club Brugge in the Champions League taking place at 3:00 a.m. on February 19, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.
