BAYER LEVEKUSEN'S Bundesliga Invincibles will be out to continue their dream season by dumping Atalanta in Dublin to get their hands on the UEFA Europa League trophy.
Xabi Alonso's side completed an unbeaten domestic league season by beating Augsburg on Saturday and have also yet to taste defeat in their remarkable European campaign.
A last-gasp goal in the second leg of the semi against Roma preserved that record and the German side are now heavy favourites to finish the job in the final.
But Atalanta have made a habit of upsetting the odds and won't head into the showpiece with an inferiority complex after knocking out tournament favourites Liverpool and then Marseille, despite not being the favourite in any of those ties.
How the bookies view it: No stopping Xabi's boys
Bayer Leverkusen are massive 2/5 favourites with Bet365 to lift the trophy and 4/5 to get the job done in 90 minutes, which is hardly surprising given the season they've had so far.
Meanwhile, backing Atalanta to win in normal time pays 16/5 and they're 2/1 to come out on top.
The draw at 90 minutes is priced 14/5.
Head to head: Atalanta the Invincibles in this fixture
The Serie A side can take heart from their record against Bayer Leverkusen as they have won both meetings with the Germans. Those matches came in the same tournament two years ago, with Atalanta winning 3-2 at home then 1-0 on the road in Germany.
- 10/03/2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Atalanta
- 17/03/2022 – Atalanta 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Players to watch: Use the head for 14/1 Scamacca
Gianluca Scamacca has put his West Ham woes behind him to relaunch his career at Atalanta and things have been going very well for the Italian so far.
The striker has 11 goals from his last 15 games and looks overpriced at 11/4 to score, while the big man is a whopping 14/1 to net with a header. Granted, only two of 18 goals that Scamacca has scored in all competition have been headers, but the forward certainly has the stature and ability to find the net with his head if given the chance.
Wonderkid Florian Wirtz has been used sparingly in the last few weeks but should be back in Leverkusen's team for the big one. He also looks a bit overpriced at 3/1 for anytime scorer, having bagged 19 goals this term, including four in the Europa League.
Probable line-ups
Marten de Roon misses out with injury for Atalanta while Emil Holm and Sead Kolasinac are questionable and might be available. We will likely know more about their status closer to the kickoff, with both of them unlikely to start, but could find their place on the bench.
Bayer Leverkusen should be pretty much at full strength, so Xabi Alonso won't have a lot of headaches when it comes to his team's starting lineup.
Atalanta: Musso, Hien, Toloi, Djimsiti, Koopmeiners, Ederson, Ruggeri, Zappacosta, Lookman, De Ketelaere, Scamacca
Bayer Leverkusen: Kovar, Hincapie, Tah, Tapsoba, Frimpong, Stanisic, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo, Wirtz, Adli
Anything else catch the eye?
Nerves can often have an impact in a final so the first half could be cagey. The half-time draw pays 5/4 while backing most goals to come in the second half looks decent at 21/20.
Both managers are renowned for playing front-foot football, so this should be a decent watch. Over 2.5 goals looks good at 4/5 and combining that with BTTS boosts the odds to 6/5.
Granit Xhaka was always good value for a card in his Arsenal days and he has racked up 10 yellows for Leverkusen this season too. The Swiss midfielder is worth backing for a card at 13/5 odds.
This UEFA Europa League match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on May 22, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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