Arguably the most interesting duel in the upcoming Champions League round will happen in Bergamo, where Atalanta will host Real Madrid as the guests hope to improve their chances of reaching the knockout phase.
It might sound weird to say it, but Real Madrid are in danger of missing the next stage since the defending champions of Europe have lost three of their five games in the Champions League this season.
At the moment, Real Madrid are sitting in 24th place in the standings with six points, so the remaining three rounds will determine whether we'll see a truly shocking surprise. Real Madrid have been pretty inconsistent this season even in La Liga, but they've been good enough there to at least keep up with Barcelona in the title race.
On the other hand, Atalanta enter this game in fantastic form after winning nine games in a row in all competitions. Atalanta are also on a nine-game winning streak in Serie A at the moment and are currently leading the league.
When it comes to the Champions League, Atalanta are fifth win three wins and a couple of draws, so La Dea fans can be cautiously optimistic ahead of their teams duel with the European champions.
How the bookies view it: Bookies not sure who to back
As expected considering all I've said above, these two teams are pretty evenly priced ahead of this game. At Kwiff, the odds on Atalanta are 6/4, while the odds on Real Madrid are 11/8. The odds for a draw are set at 12/5.
Head to head: All wins for Real Madrid
Atalanta and Real Madrid have met three times before, including their meeting in the European Super Cup at the start of this season, which Real Madrid won 2-0. The two previous meetings came in 2021 in the Champions League knockout stages, when Real Madrid notched a couple more wins.
Players to watch: Can Mbappe lead Real to an important win?
With nine goals in La Liga, Kylian Mbappe has done well for Real Madrid there, but with just one goal in five games in the Champions League, he has clearly struggled to boost his side's chances of winning so far. Perhaps now is the time for the Frenchman to shine and with odds of 23/20 on Mbappe to score at Kwiff, that's something to consider.
Meanwhile, Ademola Lookman continues to impress for Atalanta after leading his team to the Europa League win last season. This season, Lookman has eight goals in Serie A and two in the Champions League and odds on him scoring in this game are set at 33/20.
Probable line-ups
With their great run of form, it's clear that Atalanta haven't missed much their trio of injured players that includes Gianluca Scamacca, Davide Zappacosta, and Juan Cuadrado, all of which will remain on the sidelines for this game.
Real Madrid also miss a few players at the moment, such as Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, and Eduardo Camavinga, but the return of Vinicius Jr. after a few games will come at a perfect time for the Spanish giants.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui
Real Madrid: Courtois, Vazquez, Tchouameni, F. Garcia, Rudiger, Valverde, Bellingham, Modric, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Mbappe
Anything else catch the eye?
Despite Atalanta's amazing form, it's hard to see Real Madrid losing another game and truly coming on the brink of early elimination. After all, they are the reigning champions and I expect them to show it when it matters the most, including this game.
Meanwhile, with Atalanta doing so well, I can see them putting up a fight and scoring a goal, so it's worth looking at the over 2.5 total goals & BTTS combo at Kwiff with odds of 3/5.
This UEFA Champions League match between Atalanta and Real Madrid will be played on Dec 10, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atalanta vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
