Shakhtar Donetsk vs Atalanta Predictions

• A win would mean that Shakhtar finish 2^nd and thus progress to the next round.
• For them to qualify, Atalanta need to win and hope that Dinamo Zagreb fail to beat Man City.
• This a match between the worst defensive teams in Group C, who between them have shipped an average of 4.4 goals

Win and their through

The equation for Shakhtar is very simple: win and they through to the knockout rounds. A draw may be enough for them to go through, but they would then need to rely on Zagreb not beating Man City, which in all fairness isn’t overly likely.

As they often are on the continent, Shakhtar have been anything but easy to beat this time around; they’re disciplined at times and certainly don’t lack the attacking quality required to hurt teams, though they have struggled to get their heads in front, winning just one of their five Group C matches. That said, their only victory did come away against Wednesday’s opponents, so the Ukrainians should be feeling confident, especially since Atalanta have been very poor on the road, losing both of their travelling matches in this competition.

Tough task for the visitors

Like Shakhtar, Atalanta are still in with a shout as far as making the qualifiers goes, but they must win this match and hope that Man City get the better of Zagreb. The second of those conditions seems more than reasonable, but beating Shakhtar on the road, quite simply, does not.

That said, we shouldn’t rely too rigidly on results. When the pair met in the reverse fixture, Atalanta lost by only a single goal, while their performance wasn’t a poor one. In fact, as they created the better chances, they were unfortunate not just to get beat but not to come out on top.

Similarly, Atalanta’s away form in Group C reads poorly, but they shouldn’t be judged too harshly for losing away against Man City, while the defeat they tasted against Dinamo Zagreb wasn’t full merited. Defensively on that occasion they weren’t great, as has been the case throughout this campaign, but they certainly competed offensively, creating numerous scoring chances. They didn’t find the net but delivered an attacking performance worthy of multiple goals. On this basis, we shouldn’t discount the Italians just yet.

Overlook away goals at your peril

In the betting, ‘Atalanta to Score Over 1.5 Goals’ catches the eye. The Italians are yet to notch twice on the road, but their performances suggest that multiple travelling goals are well within their grasp. Moreover, the hosts have struggled massively to keep things tight, even at home, shipping six goals in three matches, conceding more than once in two of those three. Frankly, after Zagreb went to OSC Metalist and both scored twice and created lots of chances, Atalanta look a good bet to enjoy themselves offensively. After all, as anyone who saw the reverse fixture knows, the Italians scored and created plenty against Shakhtar when the pair met at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.

‘Correct Score’ punters a pointed towards a 2-2 draw. When the pair met in the reverse fixture, they created a similar amount, which was quite a lot. A 2-2 draw on that occasion would’ve been merited, while the hosts are no stranger to a relatively high-scoring stalemate having drawn 2-2 with Zagreb at this venue recently.