Atalanta vs Club Brugge

Atalanta endured a nightmare start to their UEFA Champions League campaign as they were swept aside 4-0 by PSG on matchday one, leaving them bottom of the league phase standings. Ivan Jurić’s men have since steadied themselves domestically, following up a 3-0 win over Torino with a gritty 1-1 draw against Juventus last weekend – results that should restore some belief as they look to get their UCL campaign on track. This fixture has added spice given recent history: La Dea and Club Brugge also met in last season’s play-off round, with the Belgian side running out 5-2 aggregate winners. Remarkably, two of Atalanta’s three UCL defeats last term came against the visitors, the other being inflicted by Real Madrid. The Italians actually lost more matches in the play-offs [two] than across eight group-stage outings [4W, 3D, 1L]. Their injury problems are also piling up, with Giorgio Scalvini, Isak Hien, Nicola Zalewski, Gianluca Scamacca, Sead Kolašinac and Mitchel Bakker all sidelined. Éderson at least made the bench against Juve, while Ademola Lookman has been welcomed back into the squad after resolving his dispute with the club’s hierarchy. Nikola Krstović may start up front in a 3—4—1—2 formation.

Club Brugge, meanwhile, travel to Bergamo buoyed by a 4-1 demolition of Monaco in their opening group fixture – part of a four-match unbeaten run [W3, 1D, 0L] in all competitions. However, they remain six points adrift of leaders Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium’s Pro League after following a wild 5-5 draw with Westerlo by edging 10-man Standard Liège 2-1 at the weekend. Blauw-Zwart’s last season’s victories in the playoffs over Atalanta ended a 15-match winless run against Italian opposition [0W, 6D, 9L] stretching back more than two decades, and they will be keen to replicate their surprise 3-1 success recorded in Bergamo in February. FC Bruges have also been tough to beat in the league phase recently, losing just one of their last five fixtures [2W, 2D, 1L]; that solitary setback was away to Manchester City in January. Nicky Hayen’s side will, however, be without two important figures. Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika is sidelined by a hamstring issue, while veteran goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is out with a groin problem. Meanwhile, Nicolò Tresoldi is expected to spearhead their attacking line in the familiar 4—2—3—1 formation.