Atalanta and Sporting Engage in Final Europa League Showdown

Atalanta vs Sporting Lisbon

Atalanta and Sporting are set to meet for the fourth and final time in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie here in the Europa League on Thursday night at the Gewiss Stadium.

After sharing the spoils in the first leg last week, both sides are fresh from important league games, with Atalanta drawing 2-2 against Juventus and Sporting defeating Arouca with a 3-0 scoreline.

With a spot in the quarter-finals up for grabs, expect Atalanta and Sporting to go all out in the second leg, so SBOTOP football fans should watch this game with interest because we’re going to see several Europa League 2024 highlights.

Which team do you think will win this fixture? Read more below for today’s preview.

Talking Points

Weapons conundrum for Atalanta

Gian Piero Gasperini has a big decision to make on who he’ll start up front against the Leoes on Thursday, as he has the luxury of choosing between capable attackers that not all coaches have.

Because they’d played three games last week, Gasperini had to rotate his squad. He started Gianluca Scamacca, Ademola Lookman, and Aleksei Miranchuk up front in the first leg. And against Juventus, Scamacca was joined by Teun Koopmeiners and Charles De Ketelaere.

Riding Koopmeiners’ hot hand sounds like the logical choice since he just recorded a brace against Juventus. The Dutch midfielder is currently La Dea’s leading scorer with 10 goals and four assists so far this season.

Charles De Ketelaere, Ademola Lookman, and Gianluca Scamacca all have eight goals apiece. Meanwhile, Ederson and Luis Muriel are options too, since they have six goals each this term.

With Lookman rested against Juventus, he should be able to play the full 90 minutes against Sporting alongside Gianluca Scamacca and Teun Koopmeiners.

Juan Musso, Atalanta’s first-choice goalie, was also given the night off against I Bianconeri, so he should get back his starting spot from Marco Carnesecchi on Thursday.

Gyokeres is not a one-man show for Sporting

Viktor Gyokeres has easily been one of the standout players in this tournament, but he cannot do it all alone. The good thing for Sporting, though, is that he has a capable squad right behind him.

Pedro Goncalves is the team’s top playmaker this season with 10 assists, and he also has nine goals. Meanwhile, Morten Hjulmand has scored two of his three goals this season in his last three league games.

Goncalves and Hjulmand are both 25 years old or under, which is why they’re two of the hottest young commodities in the market today. Sporting will find it hard to keep them both in the long run because they can cash in on both of them as early as this summer.

West Ham United are reportedly monitoring Goncalves, while Barcelona and Tottenham are interested in Hjulmand.

History

As mentioned, Atalanta and Sporting have met three times before this upcoming match on Thursday.

During the Europa League group stage, Atalanta won 2-1 in their first meeting before drawing 1-1 in the second. As a result, La Dea took the top spot in Group D, while the Leoes had to go through the Round of 32 first.

Sporting defeated Young Boys in the Round of 32 via an aggregate tally of 4-2, and then they drew level with Atalanta 1-1 in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.

All in all, Atalanta are now undefeated in their last five meetings with Sporting in Europe (W2, D3), and Sporting have never won in 17 previous trips to Italian sides in Europe (D5, L12).

However, Sporting are undefeated in their last seven Europa League games since their first-ever loss against Atalanta this season (W3, D4), which is their longest unbeaten run in any major European competition.

Betting Tip

The Europa League 2024 odds predict another tight contest between Atalanta and Sporting. For the second leg, the hosts were given the edge at 1.97, whereas the visitors are at 3.38 odds, and the draw is at 3.36 in the 1X2 market.

The Leoes have yet to beat La Dea in this tournament, and we feel that such a trend will continue in Bergamo this Thursday, hence our recommended bet above.

Based on the trend of their recent matchups, Total Goal 2-3 at 1.95 looks like a great alternative bet, while Over 3.00 at 2.28 is a real possibility, given the collective attacking talent from both sides.

Meanwhile, a Correct Score of 1-1 – the result of the first leg and their last group stage meeting – is being offered at 6.60.

 

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