During the group stage of the Champions League, Atalanta has complicated things several times. Even though she has almost always taken the lead in all five games, she has not managed to turn the results around: the most striking examples are the two challenges with Manchester United, but also the daring 2-2 of the last day against Young Boys – wasted a double advantage – is proof of the difficulties of Gian Piero Gasperini’s men in keeping the balance for ninety minutes. For the third year in a row, the Nerazzurri must beat Villarreal in order to progress to the round of 16 and to reach the best 16 teams in Europe.
Manchester United have won the group after all – the Red Devils have 10 points and are untouchable even if they lose to the Swiss – and it is now only a matter of figuring out who will finish second. Currently, the Yellow Submarine led by Unai Emery has one point over probabili formazioni Atalanta, therefore forced to win in front of their fans. There is no other option for Gasperini: even a draw would be fatal for him.
The Nerazzurri, on the other hand, arrive at this crucial match with tremendous enthusiasm: they have not lost in ten matches and in the league, they have even made up for the Scudetto with three consecutive wins over Juventus, Venice, and Naples. Villarreal is in a diametrically opposite mood in Bergamo, having recently suffered three defeats in a row.
Following that defeat (0-2) against United, Moreno and his teammates lost to Barcelona and Sevilla in Liga, dropping to thirteenth place.
Here are the latest formations news
With the exception of Gosens, who will have some for a while, Gasperini has regained nearly all the owners in recent weeks. In the rest of the race, the typical team will take the field, with Pasalic and Malinovskyi behind the only striker Zapata and with two luxury reserves like Ilicic and Muriel ready to enter the contest. Koopmeiners could be preferred to Freuler in the middle, while Toloi, Demiral and Palomino will play on defense.
Emery has to replace Yeremi Pino who is injured, while Danjuma and Coquelin are also in doubt. Chukwueze-Gerard Moreno are the yellow coach’s attack partners.
Streaming and watching Atalanta-Villarreal live online
The game between Atalanta and Villarreal will be played on Wednesday at 21:00 at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo. Commentary will be provided by Sandro Piccinini, with technical commentary provided by Massimo Ambrosini. It costs € 3.99 per month or € 36 per year to subscribe to the platform, which has the exclusive rights to 16 Champions League matches on Wednesdays this season.
Based on the prediction
Italanta is in great shape and has what it takes to win this type of play-off with Villarreal and qualify for the next round. There is a good chance the Nerazzurri will score between two and four goals against a team that is not having a good season and is not as solid as in the past.