Atalanta vs Slavia Praha

Atalanta return to UCL action seeking to build on the momentum from their 2-1 victory over Club Brugge on matchday two. While La Dea are difficult to beat at home this season [2W, 3D, 0L], three consecutive Serie A draws, including Sunday’s 0-0 stalemate against Lazio, have somewhat slowed their domestic progress. On the other hand, the result has extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to five games [WDWDD]. The Bergamo side have developed a strong reputation at home in the UCL group or league phase, losing only three of their last 13 fixtures on home soil [4W, 6D, 3L]. Even those defeats were narrow 3-2 losses to Villarreal [2021–22] and Real Madrid [2024–25], underlining their competitive consistency. A win here would see La Dea record consecutive home victories in the UCL for just the second time, having last achieved the feat in February 2020 against Dinamo Zagreb and Valencia. Ivan Jurić’s squad depth will be tested, though, with Odilon Kossounou, Raoul Bellanova, and Mitchel Bakker all sidelined. Nonetheless, confidence should remain high given Atalanta’s prolific home record and the form of Mario Pašalić, who is now the club’s all-time leading UCL goalscorer with eight goals. A 3—4—2—1 formation may be deployed with Ademola Lookman leading the attacking line.

This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Atalanta and Slavia Prague, although the Czech champions will be familiar with Italian opposition after losing 3-0 to Inter Milan on matchday two. That defeat marked the start of a three-game winless run across all competitions [LDD], including a frustrating goalless draw with Zlín at the weekend. Červenobílí’s struggles on the European stage are longstanding — they are currently enduring the longest active winless run in the UCL main draw, stretching to 13 matches [0W, 5D, 8L], with their last victory dating back to September 2007 [2-1 v FCSB]. Their record away to Italian clubs offers little optimism either, as they have lost nine of ten such visits [0W, 1D, 9L], conceding 22 goals at an average of more than two per match. Jindřich Trpišovský’s side also travel with a depleted squad, missing several key players, including Dominik Javorček, Jindřich Staněk, David Doudera, and Igoh Ogbu. Meanwhile, Tomas Chory is expected to continue as the lone striker in a 4—2—3—1 formation.