UEFA Champions League: Atalanta vs. Villarreal Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atalanta welcomes Villarreal in the decisive match for the Group F standings. The Spanish team has one point more than La Dea, which allows him to lay back and wait for the rival’s mistake. On the other side, the hosts have to pressure right from the first minute, as only a win suits them in the current situation. For the moment, Gasperini’s boys are in very good shape, unlike the inconsistent Yellow Submarine. The stakes are high, and one of these two teams will take everything at the end of 90 minutes. So prepare for the big battle at Gewiss Stadium.

Preview

Atalanta (-125) beat Napoli on Saturday night at San Paolo Stadium, erasing a deficit and completely outplaying the hosts in the second half. Even though La Dea allowed a goal two minutes after the break, they would keep on pounding at the same pace, eventually crushing the resistance of the Serie A leaders.

This was the 10th consecutive contest for Atalanta in which they haven’t lost, posting six wins and four failures throughout that stretch. What is important for the Italians is that they have five victories in the previous six meetings.

High-efficiency has been Atalanta’s trademark over the past three years. Only three of the most recent 15 clashes La Dea participated in ended with under 2.5 goals. The same number of games were with only one side netting. 

Villarreal (+300) struggles to find some consistency in its performances and has looked lost since the start of the campaign. For some, the win in the Europa League finals was the peak of this team, and not adding new faces turned out to be a big mistake. The Yellow Submarine looks deflated, and as if there is no motive for them to play.

Apart from a win in the Spanish Cup against a lower-league side Victoria CF, recent times aren’t that successful for Emery’s crew. They have three defeats, two at home to Manchester United and Barca, and the one from Saturday, in Seville. 

What frightens Villarreal’s fans is that their favorites have only one road triumph since the season began, apart from a win over Victoria. 

Latest News

Gosens and Lovato are out due to injuries.

Aurier and Coquelin won’t play for the guests, while Danjuma’s chances to appear in the protocol look slim at the moment.

Head to Head Games

The first leg at El Madrigal ended with a 2-2 draw. Atalanta took the lead early on, but the hosts leveled the score before halftime. After that, Villarreal netted, but Gosens responded, saving one point for his unit. 

Prediction

Our money will be on Atalanta here because of La Dea’s great shape. We’ve seen them recently defeat Juventus and Napoli on the road and smashing various opponents at home. As mentioned before, Villarreal is in problems, lacking not only consistency but also quality in certain games. That is why it sounds logical for us to bet on La Dea. The odds on the hosts’ triumph are -125.

Pick: Atalanta -125

Here are the previews for other UEFA Champions League games

• Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan
• Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Besiktas
• RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City
• Manchester United vs. Villarreal