Preview: Atalanta BC vs Celtic – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

Three weeks after the catastrophic defeat in Dortmund Celtic will try to get hers Champions League Campaign back on track against Atalanta BC when the teams meet on Wednesday.

The Hoops travel to Bergamo having just ended their perfect domestic start, while Atalanta have made it three wins in a row either side of the international break.

Game preview

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Having kept Arsenal a goalless draw On the opening matchday, Atalanta put in a good first-half performance and took control of their second Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this month.

Berat Djimsiti and hero of the Europa League final Ademola Lookman both scored before the break, and Raoul BellanovaWith his goal in the 48th minute, the club from Lombardy scored three goals and three points.

This victory sparked a revival Gian Piero Gasperiniis the inconsistent side that beat Genoa 5-1 – thanks in part to a hat-trick from the former Rossoblu striker Mateo Retegui – and then face Venezia last weekend.

Retegui took his tally to eight goals in as many league games for La Dea, with the second goal in Venice. After two out of two goals for Italy in the UEFA Nations Leaguewhich helps Atalanta move up to sixth place the Serie A table.

They are now looking to win consecutive Champions League games for the first time since March 2020, during a bittersweet, pandemic-ravaged season that saw them advance to the quarter-finals.

With four points already under his belt, Gasperini has set his sights on automatic qualification for the knockout stages, which would require a place in the top eight the table of the league phases.

Including their triumphant run to the Europa League final last season, Atalanta have lost just two of their last 16 European games and kept a clean sheet in their last four games. They will therefore be eagerly awaiting their first competitive meeting with a Scottish team.

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On the surface, Celtic should be full of confidence before arriving in Bergamo, having won 10 of 12 games this season; However, the disappointing home game on Saturday was an exception potential title rivals Aberdeen and a Champions League duel in Germany.

The Hoops fell victim to a merciless performance from the brilliant Borussia Dortmund earlier this month. defeated 7:1 in their first away game of the league phase as Karim Adeyemi caused a stir with a hat trick in the first half.

The opening 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava may have boosted the Scottish champions, but it really brought them back down to earth in one fell swoop Brendan Rodgers must quickly find a solution to two long-standing problems.

Since the start of the 2022/23 season, Celtic have conceded more goals than anyone else in UEFA's top club competition (38), while over the last seven years they have lost eight of their last nine away games, conceding an average of four goals per game.

The Glasgow giants won the European Cup in 1967 and were runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, but so far they have only reached the knockout stages of the Champions League three times – and they already face a difficult task even making the play- offs to reach.

After earning a point at the weekend in a game in which they led 2-0, Celtic Aberdeen must now hope to face one of Serie A's strongest teams, having won each of their seven Champions League tournaments had lost to stay ahead of visits to Italy.

Atalanta BC Champions League form:

Atalanta BC form (all competitions):

Celtic Champions League form:

Celtic form (all competitions):

Team news

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Atalanta eased their injury problems and welcomed the return Matteo Ruggeri and Berat Djimsiti on Sunday, during Sead Kolasinac should be back in action by midweek after being sidelined by illness.

Rafael Toloi, Marco Brescianini And Odilon Kossounou However, they still fail, in addition to long-term failures Gianluca Scamacca And Giorgio Scalvini.

Without Scamacca at the helm, Gian Piero Gasperini has relied on it Top scorer in Serie A Mateo Retegui and Nigeria striker Ademola Lookman share the burden in attack. The latter has been directly involved in eight goals in his last five starts in European competitions – most notably a hat-trick to win the Europa League final.

In the meantime, Daizen Maeda has scored in both Champions League games this season and could become the first Celtic player to score in three games in a row in the competition. He is ready to team up with other strikers Kyogo Furuhashi And Nicholas Kuhn in the Gewiss Stadium.

Left-back Greg Taylor is out with a hamstring injury while being a key defender Cameron Carter Vickers has not played since his foot injury on the opening day of the game; Alex Valley And Auston Trusty should continue to represent.

Liam Scales – who recently scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland shortly after getting on the scoresheet against Slovan Bratislava – and Alistair Johnston form the rest of the Bhoys' back four, in front of the experienced goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Samardzic, Lookman; Retegui

Possible Celtic starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda

We say: Atalanta BC 2-0 Celtic

Celtic have burned their fingers trying to keep up with Dortmund and will certainly take a more measured approach against in-form Atalanta.

However, their defensive weaknesses are still being exposed as the home team finds its rhythm after a summer of uncertainty and unrest.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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