Will United shoot their way out of their mini crisis?
Manchester United are aiming for the big time after signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, but the red devils are somehow treading water. In various competitions, things are not going as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the bosses at Old Trafford would like. On Wednesday, they must make a break for it in the Champions League.
Atalanta Bergamo will be the visitors on the third matchday of the Champions League. In the standings, no preliminary decision has been made so far. The Italians lead the standings with four points. Young Boys Bern and Manchester United follow with three points each. Villarreal, winners of the Europa League, are at the bottom of the table with just one point.
Italian teams in particular suit the Red Devils at Old Trafford. Manchester won six of their seven home games against Serie A clubs in the Champions League. Only the last one was lost to Juve, with Cristiano Ronaldo still wearing his opponent’s shirt at the time. If we like, that’s the clue to predict a home win between Manchester United and Atalanta Bergamo.
However, the Italians, who are just establishing themselves in the top flight, are a tough opponent who operate tactically at the highest level and who are not afraid of big names and also come across as extremely strong away from home.
Manchester United – Statistics & current form
There’s a lot of heat at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were looking to reassert their dominance of the Premier League and were considered a contender to win the Champions League. After about a quarter of the season, there is not much of that left. They are currently sixth in the English league. However, they are only five points behind leaders Chelsea.
Form crisis at Old Trafford
Overall, the form of the star ensemble leaves much to be desired. There has only been one win from the last five competitive matches. In the Premier League, they only managed one point and in the League Cup they were eliminated early on against West Ham United. These are not the best credentials to make the odds on a home win between Manchester United and Atalanta Bergamo compelling.
Last weekend, there was another heavy defeat. The game in Manchester went well at first, when Greenwood scored the early lead. But the Foxes turned the game around. In the 82nd minute, Rashford levelled the score at 2:2, but Leicester then scored two more goals for a final score of 4:2.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has lost more than half his matches as a coach in the top flight at 58 per cent, will have to come up with something to turn things around on Wednesday. Apart from Raphael Varane, all players should be ready for action. That means a lot of variations are possible in the starting line-up.
Predicted Manchester United line-up:
de Gea – Shaw, Maguire, Lindelöf, Wan-Bissaka – Pogba, McTominay – Rashford, Fernandes, Greenwood – Cristiano Ronaldo – Coach: Solskjaer
Last matches played by Manchester United:
Atalanta Bergamo – Statistics & current form
Atalanta Bergamo still don’t sound like a big team on the international stage, but the Italians have made a huge leap under Gian Piero Gasperini. In the Champions League, they have already put the fear of God into many an opponent. Atalanta have lost just one of their last seven away games in the top flight.
Atalanta strong away from home in the top flight
Things could be a bit better in Serie A. Sixth place sounds decent at first, especially as the Champions League places are only one point away. However, top of the table Napoli is already ten points away. Nevertheless, the statistics are encouraging and we therefore check the odds on a point win for the visitors in the clash between Manchester United and Atalanta Bergamo on Wednesday.
At the weekend, Atalanta came out of the international break very well. Bergamo visited Empoli and secured a comfortable 4-1 victory. Ilicic paved the way to victory with an early brace. After Ilicic scored the second goal, Empoli scored an own goal to make it 3-1 before Zapata made it 4-1 in the 89th minute.
Personnel-wise, things could well look better for the Italians, as Gasperini will have to replace some familiar players. With Hateboer and Gosens, for example, the wingers are missing. In addition, Berat Djimsiti and Matteo Pessina are still on the injured list of Atalanta Bergamo.
Predicted line-up of Atalanta Bergamo:
Musso – Demiral, Palomino, Toloi – de Roon, Koopmeiners – Maehle, Zappacosta, Pasalic – Muriel, Ilicic – Coach: Gasperini
Last matches played by Atalanta Bergamo:
Manchester United – Atalanta Bergamo Direct comparison / H2H balance
Manchester United have faced numerous Italian opponents. Atalanta Bergamo has not been one of them until now. Thus, the two teams will meet for the first time at Old Trafford on Wednesday. For the Italians, United is the third opponent from the English Premier League.
Atalanta Bergamo’s record against English teams is positive so far. In a total of six games against Everton and Liverpool, three wins and one draw have been achieved. Bergamo have only been defeated twice by their English opponents.
Manchester United – Atalanta Bergamo tip
From the names, Manchester United should be the clear favourites on Wednesday, but football is not quite that simple after all. The English have won just one of their last five competitive games and have completely lost the momentum they picked up at the start of the season, or rather after the signing of Ronaldo.
Manchester have won six of their seven home games against Italian clubs in the top flight. Conversely, the Italians have lost only one of their last seven away games in the Champions League. It almost sounds like you would do very well to bet on a draw in the clash between Manchester United and Atalanta Bergamo.
We think the Red Devils’ crisis will continue, after all Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has lost 58 per cent of his games as United coach in the Champions League. We don’t necessarily expect a home defeat, but have decided to play the double chance X2 betting odds between Manchester United and Atalanta Bergamo.
