Atalanta vs Sturm Graz Prediction & Betting Tips (21 January)

In the Champions League, before hosting Real Madrid on the previous day, Atalanta was uncompromising with only 1 goal conceded in five matches, but the fury of the trident of Mbappé, Vinicius and Bellingham got the better of its impregnable fortress defeat 2-3. Furthermore, at the very end of the match, the scorer Retegui, surprisingly replacing at kick-off, missed a golden opportunity to equalize by being alone in front of the Madrid cages, but to his credit, Lookman's far too tense cross was difficult to tame. With 11 points in 6 days, the Bergamasques are obviously in the mix to finish in the top 8, provided they win their last two matches of this league phase. In the league, Dea is part of the leading group in the title race with Naples and Inter Milan. Sturm Graz likely said goodbye to a possible play-off in February following their 3-2 defeat to Lille in northern France.

Remember that the Austrians seemed to have come back even taking the upper hand mentally by overcoming a 2-goal deficit, but ultimately, the final score somewhat rewarded the most dominant team on the field during the match. Sturm ultimately only won one small match in this league phase, against Girona at home 1-0, for a very chaotic record of five defeats. With 3 points on the clock, Graz is five lengths from the last play-off place, in short, obligatory victory this evening, and even with a victory, in the event of Dinamo Zagreb's success, the hopes of a play-off will be lost forever. Note that the championship will resume at the beginning of February, and after 26 days, the Blackies show themselves under a completely different face by being leaders with 36 points and a ratio of 40 goals scored for 16 conceded.

Starting on the bench against Real Madrid, Retegui, although main gunner of the Dea (12 goals, 3 assists in SA) should this time start in the eleven with the African Ballon d'Or and probably the most important player in this team, Lookman (9 achievements, 5 cakes in SA). The duo from hell could be replaced by Belgian international Charles De Ketelare (5 goals, 4 caviars in the championship). On the other hand, Ruggeri and Scamacca (end of season) could both miss the call (injured). Suspended against LOSC during the previous day, central defender Jusuf Gazibegovic simply left the club during the winter transfer window by joining Cologne in the 2nd German division.

Injured, Borkovic and starting goalkeeper Scherpen will have had more than a month to get back on their health and return to competition (uncertain). Author of 2 goals in C1, Biereth (11 goals + 4 assists in the championship) is clearly the number one offensive player of this Austrian team and will have the mission of maintaining the hope of his team in the big ears cup. Georgian international Kiteishvili (6 goals, 3 goals in the league) also has his share of importance within the group.