Arsenal in UCL trip to Atalanta after North London derby win.
Atalanta BC makes their UEFA Champions League debut against English giants Arsenal this Thursday at the revamped Gewiss Stadium, marking the first-ever competitive meeting between the two teams.
Atalanta
A befitting new-looking Gewiss Stadium will host Atalanta’s maiden fixture against Arsenal in the revamped UEFA Champions League on Thursday night. Surprisingly, this will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the two teams.
Atalanta, who ended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run with a 3-0 win to claim the Europa League title last season, will be eager to start off strong. However, their most recent European outing ended in a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final.
A hard-fought 3-2 win over Fiorentina at the weekend helped the Goddess put an end to successive league defeats, moving La Dea into 6th place. While Arsenal will be the fifth English side they face in European competition, Atalanta will be looking to secure successive victories across two competitions.
Gasperini is unlikely to alter the 3-4-2-1 formation seen at the weekend against Fiorentina, with Mateo Retegui, who has scored four goals in as many matches, leading the attack. Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere could team up with Retegui in attack. Unfortunately, a plague of ACL injuries leaves Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini out of the squad.
Arsenal
A hard-fought 1-0 win over Tottenham earned Arsenal their North London derby bragging rights at the weekend. "The resilience that we showed - we knew it would be a tough match, and that made it easier," Mikel Arteta said after the victory. This win helped the Gunners remain in 2nd place on the Premier League table ahead of Thursday’s clash with Atalanta.
With six opening wins in their last six major European campaigns, Arsenal will be looking to add to their tally of victories when they make the trip to Italy. However, their record against Italian outfits is not particularly impressive; the Gunners have won only seven of their 17 away games against such sides (7W, 4D, 6L). In addition, the Gunners have lost their last three UEFA Champions League away games in Italy.
A 4-4-2 formation was seen at the weekend against Spurs, but Arteta is expected to revert to the 4-2-3-1 with Kai Havertz in attack for this UCL fixture against Atalanta. New signing Riccardo Calafiori, formerly of Serie A side Bologna, is in doubt having picked up a shin injury.
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