Hapoel Haifa vs Atalanta Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Atalanta’s late entry in to the Europa League qualifiers clearly affected them last time out, but will they avoid another slip in their visit to Israel this week? They meet Hapoel Haifa, who are fresh from a return to European football. They are 17 years out from their last appearance at this level, after edging past FH of Iceland in the last round to book a spot in the Third Qualifying Round. They’re out to reach the play-offs by shocking Atalanta, who had an impressive first European campaign during the 2017/18 season.

The hosts edged past FH, but they have work to do if they’re going to go any further. Beating the Icelandic side put the Sharks through, but it was a comprehensive win ahead of this step up in opposition. The hosts are looking solid, but they’re hardly spectacular after a 1-1 draw in their previous home game in this competition. They’d obviously be thrilled if they could hold the Italians to a similar score in this clash, but the visitors look far too impressive going forward to slip up.

Atalanta were dropped in to the qualifiers at the last minute, having been set for the group stage just days before their meeting with Sarajevo in the last qualifying round. An 11th hour court success saw AC Milan’s European ban overturned, and Atalanta then slumped in to the qualifiers as a result. That early return seemed to hurt them late in the first leg meeting with Sarajevo, as they threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to the minnows. However, their place in this round was booked with a comprehensive 8-0 second leg win. Are they going to rack up the goals once again when they return to action?

Atalanta were a high scoring side in Europe last term, which saw them smash Everton 8-1 across two meetings, while they went out 4-3 against Dortmund in the knockout round. After scoring 10 times against Sarajevo, la Dea have got to be confident coming in to this clash with Hapoel. They should look to follow that up with a high scoring win in this visit to Israel, as they look to rack up a healthy win ahead of next week’s second leg.

With Atalanta now looking up to speed for the new season, we expect them to record a victory in this trip. Atalanta have seen both teams score in four of their five away trips in this competition, and we’re backing them to add to that with a high scoring win over Hapoel. We’re going with Atalanta to win and over 2.5 match goals, while a 3-1 victory for la Dea is our correct score tip.