Atalanta vs Shakhtar Donetsk Predictions

Atalanta’s Champions League introduction didn’t go to plan, as they were hammered 4-0 at Dinamo Zagreb. That certainly detracted from the hype for a side who were being tipped to challenge Man City in this group. La Dea were able to thrill on their way to a top-three finish in Serie A last term, while they’re making strong moves this season. However, will they crack this competition on Tuesday night?

As usual for Atalanta’s European games, they are being played away from Bergamo. Their stadium is in the middle of an ambitious redevelopment, which has left it short of UEFA requirements. However, this is no occasion for the MAPEI Stadium, like their Europa League clashes. Instead, Atalanta are facing off against Shakhtar in the San Siro, a ground which has seen historic Champions League nights in the past.

The visitors were handed a 3-0 hammering at home in their opener, losing out to Man City. That has left this pair comfortably bottom of the pile in this group. Their defences have been exposed early on, while we expect more of the same. After all, the visitors were involved in one of the highest-scoring groups last term, as they shipped 16 goals across their six group games.

Shakhtar Donetsk are without a clean sheet in their last 17 UEFA Champions League matches, conceding 36 goals – it is the longest current run without a shutout among the 32 teams competing this season. When you consider Atalanta’s defence fell apart after conceding once last time out, there are fears on both sides. We expect that fear to be even more intensified for the hosts, who are playing on a much bigger stage at San Siro.

However, Atalanta in full flow is quite the sight. Hopefully, the hosts will get their attack up and running here, as they’ve been thrilling in Serie A. Four goals at Sassuolo on Saturday marked the seventh straight Serie A game in which they’ve scored twice or more. La Dea were the top scorers in Italy last season, while they should expose this poor Shakhtar defence.

We see plenty of goals between these two, with 15 scored across the visitors’ three away group games a year ago. There were at least four in each of those games, which points to over 2.5 goals being the value bet in this clash. We are also going with a 2-1 Atalanta win, as they look to transfer their domestic form over to Europe.