Atalanta welcome Sporting CP to Gewiss Stadium for their Europa League round of 16 second leg having battled to a stalemate in the first meeting. Both teams appear evenly matched at the moment and may need extra-time and possibly penalties to separate them.
Atalanta fought back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Sporting CP in last week’s first leg. Having gone behind early in the contest, Gianluca Scamacca got the equaliser just before the break and neither team was able to find the winner.
Things have not been particularly smooth for Atalanta in recent weeks as they are winless in their last five matches. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have played out three draws in that run, including a 2-2 score line with Juventus in a Serie A fixture on Sunday.
The good news for Atalanta is that they have fared much better at Gewiss Stadium with eight wins from their last nine home matches. However, they were beaten 2-1 by Bologna in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Sporting CP will be disappointed not to have seen out the win in the first leg after making a fast start. They failed to hold on to an early effort from Paulinho and were pegged back just before the break.
Despite the disappointment of that draw, the result means Sporting CP are now unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions. They have picked up eight wins in that run while three of the last six fixtures have ended in draws.
Sporting CP have also impressed on their travels and are unbeaten in their last five away matches. Ruben Amorim’s men claimed a 3-0 victory at Arouca in a Primeira Liga fixture last Sunday.
How the bookies view it
Atalanta have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 11/10 by Betfred. A victory for Sporting CP is valued at 23/10 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 14/5 by bet365.
Head to head
This will be the fourth meeting this season between Atalanta and Sporting CP with the Italians claiming one win while the other two have ended in draws. Both teams battled to a 1-1 scoreline in the last meeting at Gewiss Stadium.
Players to watch
Gianluca Scamacca has scored in his last two matches against Sporting CP and is priced at 7/4 by bet365 to find the net on Thursday. Teun Koopmeiners has five goals in his last seven matches across all competitions and is priced at 10/3 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Viktor Gyokeres is usually the most dangerous attacker for Sporting CP and has nine goals in his last 10 matches across all competitions. The striker was also on target in one of the group stage meetings with Atalanta and is priced at 21/10 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been goals for both teams in their three meetings and a repeat is priced at 4/6 with bet365. Atalanta saw over 3.5 goals in their Serie A fixture last weekend and a similar outcome is valued at 15/8 by Paddy Power while William Hill is offering 8/11 on both teams to score.
Both teams were on target in the first half last time out and could be set for a repeat at 16/5 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Atalanta and Sporting CP will be played on Mar 14, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atalanta vs Sporting CP prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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