Preview: Atalanta BC vs. Liverpool: teams, news, and prediction

Liverpool faces a steep hill to climb as they go to the Gewiss Stadium on Thursday night for the second leg of their quarterfinal matchup with Atalanta BC, staring down the barrel of Europa League elimination.

La Dea’s stunning 3-0 victory in last week’s first meeting stunned Anfield, but the Reds are accustomed to erasing apparently insurmountable deficits on the continent.

Match Preview

After eliminating a side managed by a possible future manager of Liverpool, Sporting Lisbon under Ruben Amorim, Atalanta made their way back to England for a three-year reunion with the Reds, whom they famously defeated at Anfield during the 2020–21 Champions League group stage.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s team miraculously improved their 2-0 victory behind closed doors, thanks in large part to Jurgen Klopp’s team’s concerning wastefulness. Gianluca Scamacca’s brace and Mario Pasalic’s finish drove the visiting Atalanta supporters into a frenzy.

No other team has won both of their first two continental away matches against the six-time European champions, as La Dea’s defeat of Liverpool last week was caused by two players who struggled in the Premier League: Scamacca and Pasalic.

Gasperini’s team may be far from home and out of the competition given Liverpool’s history of amazing comebacks, but in 132 previous tournament eliminations, no Europa League or UEFA Cup team has ever lost after winning the first leg of a knockout encounter by at least three goals away from home.

Though they let a 2-0 lead slip in a 2-2 home tie, Atalanta was unable to carry over its momentum from last Thursday’s match to this weekend’s Serie A match against Hellas Verona. The hosts’ surprising victory against Liverpool is only their third victory in their previous 11 games across all competitions.

It is not appropriate for Gasperini’s team to look to their Calcio rivals AC Milan or Barcelona for advice on how to avoid surrendering many goals to Liverpool. Instead, if the Reds’ previous wastefulness is any indication, Atalanta should only pray that their guests become their own worst enemies once more.

Following their inability to capitalise on numerous opportunities on April 11, Liverpool’s springtime woes continued on Sunday as they suffered an equally painful Premier League home defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. Eberechi Eze sentenced the Reds to their first home loss in the top level in almost eighteen months.

After losing three games in a row for the first time since March/April 2023, Liverpool can no longer control the top flight title as Manchester City leads the pack. As a result, some Reds supporters have joined their Arsenal counterparts in stating that the title race is inevitable.

Liverpool has now gone nine games without a clean sheet in all competitions, in addition to their inability to convert on huge opportunities. However, a run of four straight away games should be warmly greeted by a Reds club that has scored in all of its road games this 2023–24 season.

A mind-boggling comeback is definitely not out of the question because it has been just over a year since Klopp’s team was shut out on the road against Chelsea in April of last year. Their only other trip to Atalanta in the 2020–21 Champions League ended in a decisive 5-0 victory.

Team News 

In addition to Giorgio Scalvini, who is sidelined for Thursday’s second leg due to a hamstring injury, Atalanta’s defensive ranks were further depleted prior to the Anfield demolition when former Arsenal player Sead Kolasinac suffered an adductor injury.

The veteran Dutchman is back at Gasperini’s disposal. Marten de Roon was suspended due to a yellow card, therefore the Bosnia-Herzegovina international was benched for the weekend’s match against Verona.

Because of this, only Scalvini should be missing from the Atalanta lineup this week. De Roon’s prompt return means that, like at Anfield, the 33-year-old will probably be forced into a three-man defensive wall with Berat Djimsiti and Isak Hien. Returning from a Serie A ban, Davide Zappacosta ought to start on the right.

Liverpool will probably have to do without youthful right-back Conor Bradley, who overstretched his foot in the defeat to Palace and needed medical assistance to leave the pitch, even though the hosts’ rearguard will be bolstered this week.

The severity of Bradley’s problem is yet unknown, but Trent Alexander-Arnold should be ready for his first start following his knee injury recovery, while Stefan Bajcetic might be available after playing for the Under-21s last week.

In recent weeks, Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota have also recovered from injuries; the latter is a contender to replace Darwin Nunez or Luis Diaz, whose big chance conversion rate of 19.4% is the lowest in Europe’s top five leagues. Ben Doak (knee), Joel Matip (knee), and Thiago Alcantara (muscle) are still sidelined.

Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; De Roon, Pasalic, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Scamacca, De Ketelaere, Djimsiti, Hien; Zappacosta,

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Elliott; Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson;  Salah, Jota, Diaz

We predict: Liverpool 2-3 Atalanta BC (Atalanta winning 5-3 overall).

The moment has come for Liverpool to find their creative edge again, something the cool Jota should undoubtedly contribute to, as they will need to step it up if they want to make it to the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Atalanta’s home defence has frequently fallen short of expectations.

Though Liverpool might manage a consoling win that evening, Gasperini’s team has always been praised for their brilliant attacking play. Atalanta, on the other hand, can take advantage of openings to make sure Klopp leaves Anfield without ever raising the Europa League title.