Atalanta vs Celtic Prediction & Betting Tips (23 October)

Winner of the Europa League last May by dominating the nevertheless invincible Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, Atalanta Bergamo has therefore had the luxury of returning to the Champions League this season. And everything is going well for the moment for the Italians who, after being able to stand up to Arsenal when they entered the competition 0-0, won with great mastery against Shakhtar Donetsk during the last day 0-3 . With 4 points on the clock, they can legitimately aim for a place in the play-offs or even the 1/8 finals. On the other hand, it is a little more difficult in Serie A for the Dea which still lacks regularity for the moment. Hanging on the field of Bologna 0-0, Atalanta on the other hand crushed Genoa before the international break 5-1. Confirmation will be awaited from Venice to try to get closer to the top 4 in the ranking.

For their part, Celtic have often been present in recent years in the Champions League but most often struggle to show themselves in their best light. In September, the Scots had, for once, started their European campaign rather well by crushing Slovan Bratislava 5-1. But they then showed extreme defensive weakness the following day by losing the cup at Borussia Dortmund 7-1, which pushed them back to 20th position in the standings. On the national scene, however, all the lights are green for the residents of Celtic Park who won their first 7 duels in the Scottish Premier League. They will aim for an 8th success in a row against Aberdeen with whom they share the lead in the championship.

On the Atalanta side, the starting defenders Scalvini and Ruggeri, the rookie Brescianini, the replacement Toloi and the solid attacker Scamacca, who will not play again soon, will not be operational for this European poster. Otherwise, all the other usual Dea executives will be able to hold their place well. We inevitably think of the excellent Retegui who is on fire at the start of the season. He indeed scored a hat-trick before the international break against Genoa and he has already scored 7 goals in Serie A. However, he has not yet scored in the Champions League unlike his friend Lookman (2 goals and 1 passes to SA, 1 goal in C1). On the Celtic side, senior defender Carter-Vickers (ex-Tottenham) will not be back for this poster. His friend in the rearguard, Taylor, could also be missing.

Otherwise, it will be all hands on deck for the Glasgow club. Among the captains, we obviously find midfielder McGregor who scored 4 goals in the championship. He is ahead of attackers Kühn (3 goals) and the Japanese Furuashi (3 goals), Hatate (2 goals) and Maeda (2 goals) in the scorers' ranking. The latter still scored twice in the Champions League this season. In great difficulty on the Dortmund pitch, goalkeeper Schmeichel (37 years old, ex Leicester and Nice) is no longer as efficient as before.