Atalanta Vs Real Madrid: Betting Odds, Betting Analysis, View from the Camps - Champions League

Atalanta Vs Real Madrid Betting Odds. Photo: Youtube

Real Madrid travel to Italy to take on an exciting Atalanta side in what promises to be an exhilarating UEFA Champions League encounter at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo. Zinedine Zidane's side have been ravaged by injuries this season and find themselves trailing arch-rivals Atletico Madrid by three points in the La Liga title race, with Los Rojiblancos also having a game in hand at this stage of the season.

Atalanta, on the other hand, have enjoyed yet another impressive season in Serie A, as they find themselves hovering just under the UEFA Champions League spots. Gian Piero Gasperini's side are hailed as one of the most exciting teams in world football and will look to build on their impressive European debut from last season.

Zidane acknowledged the home side's threat in the lead-up to the game and his side will have to be at their brilliant best to record a positive result away from home, according to Sportskeeda.

Team News

Hans Hateboer of Atalanta is currently unavailable due to injury. Gian Piero Gasperini does not have any other injuries beyond the right back. Meanwhile, Zidane has confirmed that Karim Benzema will not be starting against Atalanta due to the risk of aggravating his injury. Other players unavailable due to injury would be Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Eden Hazard, Rodrygo, and Danny Carvajal. Alvaro Odriozola and Eder Militao are doubtful for the game, Footballwhispers reported.

Atalanta vs. Real Madrid Odds

Atalanta

This is still relatively new territory for Atalanta, which qualified for this European showcase for the first time last season. The Italian outfit eventually lost to Paris-Saint Germain in the quarterfinal round.

However, the club’s latest appearance is no fluke. Atalanta finished third in Serie A last season, five points behind Juventus. And in terms of expected-goal difference (xGDiff), La Dea was the best team in the league at +40.4 (according to FBRef.com).

Inter Milan was a distant second at +31.4, and Juve were even further back at +27.1 in the category.

Atalanta hasn’t been quite as strong this season, though. Through 23 Serie A matches, La Dea is only fourth in xG difference at +16.1, sitting behind Juve (+23.9), Inter Milan (+23.4) and Roma (+21.9) in the standings.

Papu Gomez, who had seven goals and 16 assists last season, has moved on to La Liga power Sevilla. However, Atalanta is still a potent force offensively, recording 53 goals in 23 league matches that are second only to Inter Milan at 57 goals.

Luis Muriel has a team-high 14 goals, despite starting in only eight of his 21 appearances. Fellow forward Duvan Zapata has nine goals and five assists.

READ MORE: Atalanta Vs. Real Madrid - Champions League: Prediction, Team News, Lineups, and Where to Watch

Real Madrid

This is very familiar territory for Los Blancos, who have won the European Cup/UCL a record 13 times. Yet, they only made it to the Round of 16 last season before being eliminated by Manchester City.

Real Madrid did win La Liga last season, but it’s chasing its city rival this year — a race that has gotten a lot closer the past couple of weeks. Atlético Madrid has suffered a loss and two draws in four league matches since the start of February, while Real Madrid have won four consecutive affairs.

In terms of xG difference, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are neck and neck, at +13.3 and +12.9, respectively. However, both are well behind Barcelona (+24.9) and Real Sociedad (+21.4) in that advanced metric.

Real Madrid has scored 42 goals in 24 La Liga matches — 12 of them via Karim Benzema. Unfortunately, Benzema will miss this game due to injury. Central midfielder Casemiro is next on the list with five goals, but no one else has more than three on the roster.

Betting Analysis & Picks

Photo: vietnamnet

Atalanta has won its past two matches, including a 4-2 victory over Napoli on Sunday, and lost just one of its past 14 Serie A fixtures. That defeat came against fellow UCL participants Lazio on Jan. 31 in league play.

Yes, Real Madrid has four wins in a row. However, they came against Huesca, Getafe, Valencia and Real Valladolid — currently 20th, 15th, 12th and 19th in the Spanish top flight, respectively. Los Blancos scored two goals or less in each game, and without Benzema this past Saturday they generated just 0.5 xG in a 1-0 victory at lowly Valladolid.

Benzema isn’t the only Real Madrid player missing, either. Sergio Ramos is out as well, which weakens the defense. And Eden Hazard isn’t available, not that he’s done much since moving to Madrid.

Atalanta is legit and playing at home, which I think leads to a win in the first leg, Actionnetwork cited.

Pick: Atalanta ML (+130)

Top Betting Predictions for Atalanta vs Real Madrid

The match between Atalanta and Real Madrid promises to be an intriguing game with many betting opportunities. The best tips would be to go with:

Draw at 11/4

Total goals over 3.5 at 8/5

Luis Muriel to score anytime at 8/5

Draw

This is an even contest with Atalanta quite strong in home matches while Real Madrid are just finding their feet in away games. The absence of Karim Benzema will be a major blow for the visitors, who may just like the additional push to get over the line. Similarly, Atalanta may also struggle with a rejuvenated Real Madrid outfit. The slow starts made by Atalanta could come back to haunt them.

Total goals over 3.5

Real Madrid may have kept three clean sheets in the last three matches, but they have had a nightmare time when it comes to away matches in the Champions League. The clean sheet against Inter Milan is the sole clean sheet for the club in the last six European trips. Atalanta failed to score only once in the six group matches at home, while the club remains very strong indeed. Rather than go with the option of over 2.5 goals, which is priced very low, the best tips would suggest going for over 3.5 goals.

Luis Muriel to score anytime

Luis Muriel has been the top scorer for Atalanta this season with 14 goals. He has now picked up three goals in his last three appearances for the Italian club. Muriel has also failed to score for Atalanta in just three of his last 12 games., Footballwhispers noted.

View from the camps

Photo: marca

Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid coach: "We want the side to play like they have done in the Liga of late. The dynamic of the side is good and we want that to continue. We want to do our best and get to the final, of course. Every game at the moment is a ‘final’, and more so if it’s in a knockout competition. They’re a side who do very specific things. They attack well and are physically really strong, too."

Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta coach: "Qualification will be decided over the course of two games, so it's clear that the ideal result would be a victory. We have never met before, so only on the pitch will we be able to get a sense of Real Madrid's strength. They are one of the best teams in the world, but we have always come out of these games with a little more knowledge and quality." UEFA reported.

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