UEL: Atalanta vs Sporting Betting Tips & Preview
Atalanta Clinch Group With Draw or Win
Europa League Match of the Week
Atalanta is one win away from clinching Europa League Group D and getting a bye to the round of 16. On Thursday, La Dea hosted Sporting in a critical UEL matchup. Sporting will very much be in the running for the knockout stage, even if they lose, but they can shake up the group standings with a win. While this is a UEL group-stage match, neither team would seem out of place in the Champions League. Ahead of the Europa League match of the week, we’ll check out the odds and dish out some Atalanta vs Sporting betting tips.
Atalanta vs Sporting
Day/Time:
Location: Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
Head-to-Head:
In October, these teams met for the first time since the 1987-88 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Giorgio Scalvini and Matteo Ruggeri scored first-half goals for visitors Atalanta in their 2-1 win over Sporting. The Europa League odds listed Atalanta as +225 underdogs for the match. This will be the sixth meeting between the two sides and Atalanta holds a 3-1-1 record vs. Sporting all-time.
Atalanta Fall to Napoli at Home
Atalanta have gotten off to an up-and-down start in Serie A this season. The Bergamo side have just a 6-2-5 record and sit in seventh place after 13 matches. Over the weekend, Atalanta fell 2-1 at home to Napoli. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened up the scoring for Napoli on a header and Ademola Lookman equalized with a header of his own in the second half.
Napoli took advantage of Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi’s poor clearance as Victor Osimhen found Elif Elmas for the Partenopei’s winner. Despite their three-game winless run in Serie A, Atalanta have done well on their UEFA Europa League schedule. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are an unbeaten 3-1-0 in the UEL and have scored twice in three of their four games. On Matchday 4, Berat Djimsiti scored a scrappy goal in the box to power La Dea to a 1-0 win over SK Sturm Graz in Bergamo.
This is only Atalanta’s second appearance in the Europa League group stage. Atalanta vs Sporting betting tips note that in their only other cameo, La Dea finished in first place in their group. With a draw or win vs. Sporting, they’ll clinch their group once again. Still, they’ve lost two of their last three home matches, in all competitions. Bettors can expect Jose Luis Palomino and El Bilal Toure to miss this match for the hosts.
Sporting Have Multiple Opportunities to Qualify
Sporting managed a landslide victory over Dumiense in the Taça de Portugal fourth round on Sunday. The Lisbon club scored eight unanswered goals over the fourth-tier side. Paulinho scored a hat trick in the match as Sporting bounced back from a 2-1 loss in the Primeira Liga to rivals Benfica. Sporting are 9-1-1 in the Primeira Liga and level on points with leaders Benfica.
Their only two losses this season have come to Benfica and Atalanta, in the reverse fixture. Even so, Sporting has gotten on the scoresheet in all 18 matches they’ve played this season, in all competitions. Viktor Gyokeres and Pedro Goncalves are on the list of top ten Europa League goal scorers, with two goals apiece. Gyokeres’ Sporting career has gotten off to an excellent start, as he’s also scored seven goals in the Primeira Liga.
Sporting’s last Europa League match finished in a 2-1 home win over Raków Częstochowa. Goncalves converted two penalties for the hosts as they improved to 2-1-1. Even if Sporting loses this match, they’ll be able to qualify for the knockout stage by drawing vs. Sturm Graz on the final matchday.
Match Analysis & Odds
Based on the odds, Atalanta has an implied 47.6 percent chance to come away with three points and win Group D. Atalanta is +110 favorites for Thursday’s match vs. Sporting. The first of our Atalanta vs Sporting betting tips is that both teams will get on the scoresheet in this one. They’re on lengthy scoring streaks and both teams typically play an attacking style of football. Both teams to score come in at -160 odds for this one.
Bettors can also take Sporting Lisbon at +225 odds or a draw at +270. Currently, both over and under 2.5, 3 goals sit at -115 odds. Sporting have conceded in all four of their Europa League matches, while just one of Atalanta’s four matches has finished with four or more goals. Only Slavia Prague and Bayer Leverkusen have conceded fewer goals than Atalanta in the UEL so far.
Other lines of interest for the match include Atalanta pk, -0.5 at -120 odds, and Sporting pk, +0.5 at -110. Even though they’re underdogs, Sporting are not an easy team to beat and they knocked out Arsenal in last season’s round of 16. A draw seems to have the most value of the moneyline offerings, as both teams will benefit from one.
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