Champions League Preview: Barcelona vs Atalanta – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Wednesday’s mouth-watering UEFA Champions League showdown between Barcelona and Atalanta is a landmark occasion for the home side. Indeed, La Dea will become a competition-record 159th different team to face the Spanish powerhouse in European football.

Barcelona performed a breathtaking second-half comeback to beat Benfica in a controversial 5-2 victory in Lisbon last week. In doing so, Hansi Flick’s charges secured automatic Round-of-16 qualification with a game to spare.

However, referee Danny Makkelie’s decision not to award a penalty to Benfica at 4-4 cast a shadow on Barcelona’s incredible fightback. There was no controversy or doubt in Sunday’s home clash against La Liga underachievers Valencia on this ground.

Indeed, a phenomenal performance saw Barcelona thrash Los Che 7-1 at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to set themselves up nicely for this encounter. Visiting Atalanta proved they’re no strangers to turnarounds themselves, hauling back a halftime deficit to beat Como 2-1.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side returned to winning ways in Serie A after a dismal four-game winless streak (D3, L1). As a result, they’ll take this daunting trip in high spirits, looking to build on a scintillating 5-0 romping of Austrian outfit Sturm Graz in the previous round.

That win helped Atalanta finish the penultimate league-phase matchday as one of three Italian clubs inside the coveted top eight. However, a single-point lead on ninth-placed Aston Villa highlights the importance of staging an upset in Catalonia.

Match Preview

Barcelona

Seven strikes against Valencia took Barcelona’s tally to a whopping 102 goals from only 32 matches under Flick. In fact, they’re the most prolific team in Europe’s traditional top-five leagues this season, underscoring the severity of the threat Atalanta will have to contend with today.

Adding to this sentiment, Barcelona have been faultless at home in the Champions League this term, winning all three games via an aggregate score of 12-1. Delivering action from the get-go, Los Blaugranas opened the scoring within ten minutes on each occasion.

That makes for good reading as Flick bids to strengthen his formidable home record as a manager. The ex-Bayern Munich coach boasts a stellar 91% win ratio in Champions League home fixtures (W10, L1), with his sides averaging an intimidating 3.1 goals per match.

Further confidence comes from Barcelona’s telling all-time record against Italian clubs in major European competitions (W30, D18, L11). However, this will be their first-ever meeting with Atalanta.

Atalanta

An emphatic 3-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in last season’s UEFA Europa League final demonstrated Atalanta’s capability to upset the apple cart. Worryingly, Gasperini’s men have recently stuttered against Spanish opposition, losing five of their last six games against La Liga clubs (D1).

Leaving Bergamo could be just what the doctor ordered for Atalanta, considering their ruthless away form in the Champions League this season. Indeed, they enter the league-phase finale as one of only two sides with a 100% away record.

Moreover, Atalanta’s three European wins on the road this season came via a combined score of 11-1, with two seeing them score 2+ first-half goals. The visitors boast an impressive average of 2.4 goals per Champions League away match, making the Bergamo club the only team to have played 5+ matches while maintaining an average of over two goals per game on the road in this competition.

However, Atalanta have failed to impress outside the Gewiss Stadium lately, going three consecutive road trips without winning (D2, L1) before dispatching Como.

Team News

In addition to long-term absentees Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal, Barcelona will be without veteran center-back Inigo Martinez. Andreas Christensen and Dani Olmo are also out with calf injuries, leaving Flick strapped for senior options across departments.

On the other hand, Atalanta can’t call upon Odilon Kossounou, Gianluca Scamacca, and Ademola Lookman for this trip. With the Nigerian out, Gasperini will likely pair Mateo Retegui with Charles De Ketelaere in the final third.

Barcelona vs Atalanta Potential Starting Line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3): Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski

Atalanta (3-5-2): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Scalvini; Ruggeri, Ederson, Pasalic, Zappacosta; Samardzic; Retegui, De Ketelaere.

Barcelona vs Atalanta Prediction

With both teams scoring at will, this could be one of the most fascinating match-ups in the final league-phase round. However, the stakes are high for Atalanta, and Gasperini wouldn’t mind a less attractive contest. Without Lookman, we have no choice but to back Barcelona for success.