Atalanta travel to Barcelona for their final fixture in the first phase of the UEFA Champions League as they look to confirm their place in the round of 16. The Catalans have already qualified but will be keen to maintain their momentum and should have the upper hand on Wednesday.
Barcelona secured automatic qualification to the Champions League round of 16 after coming from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 last time out. That was their sixth straight win in the competition after bouncing back from the opening day defeat to Monaco.
The Catalans’ fine form stretches beyond the Champions League as they have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. Hansi Flick’s team will head into Wednesday’s match with a 7-1 victory over Valencia in a La Liga fixture on Sunday.
Atalanta are also in the mix to progress as they sit seventh in the table after winning three of their last four matches in the competition. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men eased to a 5-0 victory over Sturm Graz in their last fixture.
The Bergamo club also picked up a 2-1 victory at Como in Serie A at the weekend. While that was their first win in four matches across all competitions, they have actually won all three of their away matches in the Champions League.
How the bookies view it: Bookies fancy Barcelona
Barcelona have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 7/10 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Atalanta is valued at 16/5 by BoyleSports who are also offering odds of 3/1 for a draw.
Head to head: No previous meetings
There are no previous matches between Barcelona and Atalanta.
Players to watch: Red hot Raphinha
Raphinha continues to shine for Barcelona and has scored six times in the last five matches in all competitions. The Brazilian forward will be the one to watch and is priced at 7/5 by BoyleSports to find the net on Wednesday.
Mateo Retegui has impressed since returning from injury, scoring five times in the last four matches in all competitions. The striker is priced at odds of 15/8 with BoyleSports to get on the score sheet once again.
Probable line-ups
Barcelona will be without Pedri, Dani Olmo and Inigo Martinez who are all sidelined with injury. Robert Lewandowski came off the bench against Valencia and should start on Wednesday while Pau Cubarsi should continue at the back.
Marten de Roon and Gianluca Scamacca are out injured for Atalanta. Charles de Ketelaere could be handed a start after coming off the bench at Como while Mateo Retegui should lead the line once again.
Barcelona: Szczensy, Balde, Cubarsi, Garcia, De Jong, Casado, Lopez, Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Atalanta: Carnesecch, Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac, Cuadrado, Ederson, Samardzic, Ruggeri, de Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have seen over 3.5 goals in four of their last five matches in all competitions and a repeat is priced at 5/6 with BoyleSports. The Spaniards have scored in both halves in all four matches and a similar outcome is priced at 21/20 with BoyleSports.
Barcelona halves won both halves in their last two home matches and a similar outcome is priced at 7/2 BoyleSports.
This UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Atalanta will be played on Jan 29, 2025 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Atalanta prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
