Atalanta vs Real Madrid Odds and Predictions – Champions League Round of 16 Leg 1 – Sports Betting Dime

Luis Muriel of Atalanta celebrates after scoring his team’s opening goal during the Group D Champions League soccer match between Ajax and Atalanta at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Wednesday December 9, 2020 (AP Photo / Peter Dejong)

• Bookmakers are giving Italian team Atalanta every chance of scoring a result on Wednesday in their round of 16 first leg of the UEFA Champions League with historic Spanish giant Real Madrid.
• The Dea sit in the jumble of 3rd to 7th place in Serie A, while Los Blancos narrowed the gap with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid to just three points in recent weeks
• Get a breakdown of the two clubs, odds for Wednesday’s game and a few valuable picks below

While the two clubs involved in Wednesday’s round of 16 clash couldn’t have had more different backgrounds – Atalanta in their second Champions League campaign, Real Madrid, the competition’s most successful club (13 titles ) – the scales remain fairly balanced in this area Match Atalanta vs Real Madrid.

At +138, Atalanta is actually a (slight) favorite for Wednesday’s first leg and had more points in the group stage (11) in Group D than his visitors (10) at the top of Group B.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have been part of Serie A’s resurgence in recent seasons, playing expansive football with an emphasis on a multi-pronged attack; Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have seen success in recent times after a hairy first half of the campaign nearly lost them from the domestic title and the group stage.

Atalanta vs Real Madrid Champions League odds

Quotes taken on February 21 at DraftKings

Wednesday’s meeting will be the first-ever competitive clash between the two teams.

Atalanta vs Real Madrid statistics

Atalanta: changing the narrative

With the second most Serie A goals (53) this season and a whopping 2.5 / game at home, there’s no doubt that Atalanta has some serious firepower.

Their performance in the group stage, however, was disappointing at home: draws against Ajax (2-2) and Midtjylland (1-1) and a nasty loss to Liverpool (0-5) forced the team to win the three on the outside – which they did, compiling a 7: 0 goal difference in the process – to move forward.

The two-headed Colombian strike force of Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata has proven to be deadly this season, combining for 23 goals, while Robin Gosens (7) and Josip Ilicic (4) provided a secondary score.

Real Madrid: Continental glory

While Zidane’s management post at Real Madrid appeared to be on life support a few months ago, the Frenchman brought his side back in the La Liga title race and kept them alive in the Champions League; if he can guide his team to one or both pieces of silverware, he can just live to see another season.

Los Blancos have been consistent though unspectacular in recent weeks, racking up clean sheets and wins over opposition from the bottom half.

A poor start to the Champions League campaign made last day’s 2-0 win over Mönchengladbach a necessity to move forward, and the group lead was likely undeserved.

Best Atalanta vs Real Madrid bets

Wednesday’s hosts have scored multiple goals in three of the six group stage games, and Los Blancos have conceded multiple goals in two of the three away games in the final phase of the competition.

While Real Madrid have been excellent defensively in Spain lately, conceding just once in their last four games, Atalanta is a significantly more difficult task than the Getafe-Valencia-Valladolid race they’ve just been in. confronted with.

Expect Atalanta to come out aggressively in a bid to grab the second leg in Spain, and the almost even-money Over 1.5 (-103) hosts could be a strong game.

Also, supporting the Colombian duo of Luis Muriel (+180) or Duvan Zapata (+155) to score would be smart money; one of the two has scored in each of Atalanta’s last four games.

Pick: Atalanta on 1.5 (-103), Luis Muriel will score (+180)

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