Arsenal kick off their 2024-25 Champions League campaign with a tough trip to Atalanta.
The Gunners will be keen to better last season’s performance, when they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.
And a positive start in Bergamo is exactly what manager Mikel Arteta will demand from his players.
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Atalanta vs Arsenal
Thursday, September 19, 8.00pm
Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
Live on TNT Sports
Atalanta vs Arsenal Preview
This is the second of Arsenal’s three away games on the trot, with a trip to Manchester City coming up this Sunday.
But the Gunners will arrive in Bergamo full of confidence after a 1-0 victory at fierce rivals Tottenham last Sunday, a victory they achieved without key midfield duo Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
Rice will return on Thursday following the completion of his Premier League suspension, although Odegaard is expected to miss out again with an ankle injury.
As such, focus will be on the success of Arsenal’s strong defence up against Atalanta’s high-energy playing style, a style which bamboozled both Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League last term.
Atalanta have not had a great start to the season, though. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have lost two of their first four Serie A games, including a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Inter Milan.
However, they welcome Arsenal after achieving a 3-2 home win over Fiorentina, so the North Londoners certainly cannot underestimate them.
And Ademola Lookman has started the season brightly and if the Gunners cannot keep the Nigeria international quiet, things could turn sour very, very quickly.
But the likes of Bukayo Saka (who reportedly went off with cramp only against Spurs and should be part of the squad), Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli will fancy their chances of putting Atalanta’s shaky defence to the sword, as they have kept just one clean sheet this season.
What a game we have in prospect!
Atalanta vs Arsenal Odds
*Odds are subject to change
Visitors Arsenal open as the favourites at odds of 1.90 for victory. Atalanta are priced at 3.93, while the draw is 3.70.
Saka is the frontrunner in the first goalscorer market at 6.80, followed by Jesus (7.10), Havertz (7.10) and Sterling (7.90). Atalanta forward Mateo Retegui is at odds of 8.30 to open the scoring.
Atalanta vs Arsenal Betting Tips
Arsenal to win and under 2.5 goals in the match @ 4.40
Defence has been Arsenal’s strength this season and they are yet to score more than two goals in a match. So we fancy them to pick up victory in a similar manner here, either 1-0 or 2-0.
Draw at half-time and Arsenal to win @ 3.88
But while we fancy Arsenal to eventually claim the win in Bergamo, we can see Atalanta making them work for it. Arsenal had to wait until the second half to secure their away wins over Aston Villa and Tottenham – and this game may follow the same storyline.
Atalanta Team News
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Patricio, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri, Lookman, De Ketelaere, Retegui
Injuries/Doubts: Toloi, Scalvini, Godfrey, Scamacca
Arsenal Team News
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Jorginho, Rice, Nwaneri, Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli
Injuries/Doubts: Saka, Odegaard, Merino, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Tomiyasu, Tierney
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