Atalanta v Manchester United predictions: Defences hard to trust in Bergamo

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Atalanta v Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Tuesday

Best bet

Over 3.5 goals
1pt 5-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Team news

Atalanta
Berat Djimsiti, Robin Gosens, Rafael Toloi, Matteo Pessina and Hans Hateboer are missing for the hosts. Duvan Zapata should get the nod over Luis Muriel up front.

Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could stick with the three-man defence he employed at Tottenham on Saturday. Victor Lindelof has not travelled but Paul Pogba is available despite serving a domestic suspension.

Match preview

Manchester United's 3-0 Premier League win at Tottenham on Saturday eased the pressure a little on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer although the Norwegian manager has had little time to savour that victory.

Solskjaer has tenaciously clung onto his role despite United's humiliating 5-0 rout by Liverpool at Old Trafford but there are plenty of hurdles to clear before he can start to feel any sense of job security.

The Red Devils' next five fixtures include tricky Champions League trips to Atalanta and Villarreal, Saturday's derby against Manchester City, and a clash with European champions and league leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Solskjaer cannot afford to get ahead of himself, however, and his focus must be on gaining a positive result in Bergamo where United continue their entertaining Champions League group-stage campaign.

They dropped into the Europa League last season, despite scoring 15 goals in six group games, and have started this term's European adventure with a shock 2-1 defeat at Young Boys, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka was shown a first-half red card.

Solskjaer's reign has been studded with slow starts and dramatic comebacks and United made life difficult for themselves in their home games against Villarreal and Atalanta on matchdays two and three.

Villarreal, who beat the Red Devils in an epic penalty shootout to win last season's Europa League, took a deserved lead at Old Trafford and created several more good chances before United hit back with goals from Alex Telles and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And they were in an even bigger hole against Atalanta, who went 2-0 up inside half an hour in Manchester before Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and, inevitably, Ronaldo completed United's comeback.

A three-man defence featuring the fit-again Raphael Varane kept a clean sheet at Tottenham, whose performance was so limp that it cost manager Nuno Espirito Santo his job, but it is hard to see the visitors keeping Atalanta quiet.

The boys from Bergamo were the leading goalscorers in Serie A in 2019-20 and 2020-21, averaging 2.47 goals per game over those two seasons, and they have continued in similar vein this term.

Five of their last six Serie A matches have rewarded backers of over 3.5 goals, including a 2-2 draw with champions Inter and a 3-2 defeat to red-hot Milan, and that looks a solid bet once again.

Atalanta have demonstrated over the past three seasons that they can unsettle the best defences in Europe but their own rearguard is weakened by an injury to Italy international Rafael Toloi and their only clean sheet in their last nine matches came at home to Young Boys.

Key stat

Six of Atalanta's last eight matches in all competitions have produced over 3.5 goals.

Inside info

Atalanta

Penalty taker Duvan Zapata
Free-kick wizard Josip Ilicic
Set-piece aerial threat Merih Demiral
Card magnet Jose Luis Palomino

Manchester United

Penalty taker Bruno Fernandes/Cristiano Ronaldo
Free-kick wizardBruno Fernandes/Cristiano Ronaldo
Set-piece aerial threatHarry Maguire
Card magnet Paul Pogba

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