Champions League: More Man United Dramatics in Bergamo?

Atalanta vs Manchester United

Atalanta and Manchester United are set to lock horns once more in the Champions League, this time in Bergamo.

The Red Devils avoided a disastrous home defeat in their first meeting thanks to another terrific comeback, as well as more Cristiano Ronaldo dramatics in Europe.

And after another masterclass display over the weekend, can CR7 produce more Champions League heroics on his return to Italy?

Atalanta have had their struggles at home lately, and the Champions League 2021 betting odds will be very close against Man United.

Talking Points

Atalanta still struggling to win at home

Duvan Zapata remains as Atalanta's go-to guy in their Champions League campaign this season — Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata in action against Man United’s Victor Lindelof during their Champions League match at Old Trafford

Atalanta’s home struggles continued as they were held to another draw by Lazio this weekend. La Dea needed a late equaliser from Marten de Roon to salvage a 2-2 stalemate.

Atalanta have not won in their last three home games and have just two wins in their seven games at the Gewiss Stadium this season (three draws, two losses).

de Roon, a central midfielder, has had to fill in a centre-back in the last few games with Atalanta still missing some key defenders. Captain Rafael Toloi missed the first meeting against United in Manchester and is likely to miss out again. Similarly, Berat Djimsiti, Robin Gosens, Hans Hateboer, and Matteo Pessina are also likely to be unavailable for this Champions League clash.

Gian Piero Gasperini is doing his best to rotate his fairly thin squad, but the constant run of games – this will be their sixth in the space of two weeks – might be starting to catch up to them.

The good news for Atalanta is that striker Duvan Zapata is in fine form at the moment with two goals in his last two games. Meanwhile, countryman Luis Muriel could come in for Josip Ilicic, who started the Lazio match.

Solskjaer seeks to ease pressure further

The drama surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job at Manchester United has died down a bit – for now, at least – after an impressive 3-0 win away at Spurs over the weekend.

Once again, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who came to his old teammate’s rescue as he scored United’s opening goal and set up Edinson Cavani’s second.

Solskjaer made a big decision to change his formation, starting veterans Ronaldo and Cavani up front along with a back three.

Raphael Varane returned to the side after missing a few games due to injury, and he helped United secure just their second clean sheet of the season.

It remains to be seen whether Solskjaer will decide to stick with this 3-4-1-2 formation against United and mirror Atalanta away from home.

While Cavani is unlikely to start a second straight game, Ronaldo is almost surely set to lead the Red Devils’ attack once again. The Portuguese has been producing Champions League 2021 highlights for fun this season, scoring in each of his first three games. That includes two late winners against Villarreal and Atalanta.

Should Solskjaer stick with two strikers up front, Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood is expected to come in and partner Ronaldo. Rashford, who scored United’s third goal against Spurs, has been in sizzling form, scoring three goals in four games since his return from shoulder surgery.

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History

Manchester United will be making their first-ever trip to Bergamo, where they will look to improve their impressive record in Italy. The Red Devils have won each of their last four games in the country, including both Europa League knockout legs against Milan and Roma last season.

As for Atalanta, they haven’t won their last two home games against English opposition. They lost 5-0 to Liverpool in the group stage last season and drew 1-1 against Man City in the 2019 group stage.

Betting Tip

	Atalanta vs Manchester United	1X2 Manchester United @ 2.39
	November 3, 04:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Manchester United priced as very slight 2.39 favourites over Atlanta, who are pegged at 2.66 odds to win at home. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.60.

Amid United’s recent struggles, they showed against Spurs that they still have the quality to hurt underperforming sides.

Atalanta have shown with their home form that they are not quite at their best, and their lack of depth amid all their injuries could finally come back and haunt them against the Red Devils.

That’s why I’m backing Manchester United to pick up another win to help ease the pressure on Solskjaer even more.