Manchester United will be aiming to make it three straight victories in the Champions League when they head to the Gewiss Stadium on Tuesday evening to take on Italian outfit Atalanta BC.
The Red Devils are currently top of Group F, collecting six points from their first three matches, while Atalanta are third in the section, just two points behind their opponents in Bergamo.
Match preview
© Reuters
Atalanta took a two-goal lead at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture on October 20, with Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral on the scoresheet, but Man United hit back in spectacular fashion, scoring through Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo to secure all three points on home soil.
The result has left the Italian outfit in third position in Group F, level on points with second-placed Villarreal and just two behind leaders Man United, which is an indication of the importance of Tuesday's contest.
Atalanta have played three Serie A matches since the clash in Manchester, drawing with Udinese and Lazio, in addition to recording a 3-1 victory at Sampdoria, and a total of 19 points from 11 matches, collected through five wins and four draws, has left them in fifth position in the table.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side have reached the quarter-finals and round of 16 in the last two seasons of the Champions League, but they have only won three of their nine home fixtures in the competition, one of which was a 1-0 success over Young Boys at the end of September.
The Italian giants will finish their Group F campaign with clashes against Young Boys (A) and Villarreal (H), and it will be fascinating to see how the section develops over the next few weeks, as all four teams will still be confident of challenging for a spot in the knockout round of the competition.
© Reuters
Man United, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday night; the pressure was firmly on head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer entering the contest, but the Red Devils managed to secure all three points in impressive fashion.
A switch to a 3-5-2 formation worked well at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Rashford on the scoresheet, and the win moved the 20-time English champions into fifth spot in the table, just three points behind third-placed Manchester City ahead of Saturday's Manchester derby.
Solskjaer's side suffered a 2-1 loss to Young Boys in their Group F opener on September 14 but have managed to collect maximum points in their last two matches, coming from behind against Villarreal and Atalanta, with Ronaldo netting winners in both of the fixtures.
Man United are top of the section on six points but cannot consider themselves to be comfortable, and a defeat on Tuesday would leave the group wide open, with just three points separating the Red Devils from Young Boys in fourth.
The visitors, who finished third in their Champions League group last season, have won six, drawn three and lost 11 of their 20 matches away to Italian clubs in Europe, while they have been beaten in each of their last three away fixtures in the competition, losing to Istanbul Basaksehir, RB Leipzig and Young Boys.
- D
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Atalanta will again be without the services of Berat Djimsiti, Robin Gosens, Rafael Toloi, Matteo Pessina and Hans Hateboer for Tuesday night's European contest.
Jose Palomino is also a doubt due to a thigh problem, so Matteo Lovato could again start in a back three, while midfielder Marten de Roon may be pressed into action in a defensive area.
A 3-4-3 formation should see Duvan Zapata operate at the tip of the attack, with Pasalic and Josip Ilicic operating in the deeper areas, although Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi are also pushing for starts.
Man United, meanwhile, will be without the services of Victor Lindelof due to a knock, but Paul Pogba is available for selection, as his suspension only relates to domestic fixtures.
There is every chance that Solskjaer will stick with the same 3-5-2 formation that proved successful at Spurs, but it does seem likely that there will be at least two changes ahead of the Manchester derby, with Cavani potentially being protected ahead of starting on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Lindelof's absence could see Luke Shaw feature as one of the three centre-backs, allowing Alex Telles to come into the side at wing-back.
Rashford came off the bench to score against Spurs and could join Ronaldo in attack, while Pogba and Nemanja Matic are options in the middle of the park.
The importance of this match means that Solskjaer cannot take any real chances, though, and the XI is expected to be very similar to the one that featured at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Lovato, Demiral, De Roon; Zappacosta, Freuler, Koopmeiners, Maehle; Ilicic, Zapata, Pasalic
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Maguire, Varane, Shaw; Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes, McTominay, Fred, Telles; Ronaldo, Rashford
We say: Atalanta BC 1-1 Manchester United
A draw would be a good result for Man United under the circumstances, and we fancy the Red Devils to claim a point in Italy. Atalanta are still missing some important players but caused a lot of problems at Old Trafford in the reverse match, and we are expecting the spoils to be shared at the Gewiss Stadium.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 53.13%. A draw had a probability of 26.9% and a win for Atalanta BC had a probability of 19.93%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 0-1 with a probability of 15.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.41%) and 1-2 (8.75%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.14%), while for an Atalanta BC win it was 1-0 (8.43%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 3.4% likelihood.
