Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction, betting tips and odds: Relentless Leverkusen set for more late joy

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Where to watch Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen

You can watch Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final at 8pm on Wednesday, May 22, live on TNT Sports 1

Match prediction & best bets

Draw-Bayer Leverkusen double result
2pts 15-4 bet365, BoyleSports

Florian Wirtz to be first goalscorer
1pt each-way 8-1 bet365

You can bet on Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen here and get £40 in free bets with BetMGM

Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen odds

Atalanta 100-30
Bayer Leverkusen 5-6
Draw 27-10

Odds correct at time of publishing

Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen predictions

Bayer Leverkusen have shed their reputation as 'nearly men' in the most emphatic style imaginable and they can claim the second leg of a potential treble by beating Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin. 

Xabi Alonso's men wrapped up their maiden Bundesliga title on April 14 and Saturday's 2-1 home win over Augsburg completed an unbeaten 34-match league campaign featuring 28 victories and six draws.

The club formerly mocked as 'Neverkusen' are now being hailed as 'Neverlusen', having gone 51 matches without defeat in all competitions this season.

Leverkusen have two more hurdles to clear in their pursuit of footballing immortality as they face Atalanta in Dublin before taking on second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday's DFB-Pokal final.

After sealing the title with five matches to spare, Alonso has been able to rotate his team over the past month and he should have a fully-fit squad available for the Europa League final.

Inspirational wing-backs Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong, who contributed 19 goals and 20 assists between them in the Bundesliga, are among the first names on the teamsheet along with midfielder Granit Xhaka, who has made a triumphant return to Leverkusen after seven seasons at Arsenal. 

Atalanta, in contrast, have injury problems in defence and were beaten 1-0 by Juventus in last week's Coppa Italia final.

The underdogs have won their last five games in Serie A, however, and must be respected after their impressive quarter-final victory over Europa League favourites Liverpool.

Gian Piero Gasperini's side won 3-0 at Anfield in the first leg and eased past Marseille 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals but keeping Leverkusen quiet for an entire 90 minutes – plus injury-time – has proved virtually impossible this term.

The draw-Leverkusen double result looks a good bet given their incredible record of scoring late goals in Europe. 

Their 12 strikes in six Europa League knockout ties came in the 70th, 91st, 72nd, 92nd, 96th, 83rd, 91st, 89th, 28th, 73rd, 82nd and 96th minutes while Atalanta have conceded only three first-half goals in their last ten Serie A matches.

Florian Wirtz gave Leverkusen an uncharacteristically early lead in the semi-final first leg at Roma, pouncing on a defensive error in the 28th minute, and he is an eye-catching price to break the deadlock again.

The Germany youngster, who scored after just seven seconds of March's friendly win in France, poses a threat as an attacking midfielder or a false number nine and he can add to this season's tally of 18 goals in 36 starts in all competitions. 

Key stat

Eleven of the 12 goals scored by Bayer Leverkusen in Europa League knockout ties this season came in the 70th minute or later

Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen team news

Atalanta
Marten de Roon (thigh) and Emil Holm (calf) are likely to miss out. Defenders Rafael Toloi and Sead Kolasinac are doubts so Giorgio Scalvini could drop into the back three.

Bayer Leverkusen
Cup goalkeeper Matej Kovar is expected to play instead of Lukas Hradecky and Xabi Alonso has no fresh injury concerns. Florian Wirtz (thigh) should be fit to start and Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick are competing for a place up front.

Probable teams

Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Musso; Djimsiti, Hien, Scalvini; Zappacosta, Pasalic, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners, De Ketelaere; Scamacca
Subs: Bonfanti, Hateboer, Miranchuk, Toure, Toloi, Adopo, Lookman

Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Kovar; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface
Subs: Schick, Palacios, Adli, Kossounou, Stanisic, Hlozek, Tella

Inside info

Atalanta

Star man Teun Koopmeiners
Top scorer Gianluca Scamacca
Penalty taker Teun Koopmeiners
Card magnet Ederson
Assist ace Charles de Ketelaere
Set-piece aerial threat Gianluca Scamacca

Bayer Leverkusen

Star man Alex Grimaldo
Top scorer Victor Boniface
Penalty taker Victor Boniface
Card magnet Jonathan Tah
Assist ace Alex Grimaldo
Set-piece aerial threat Jonathan Tah

Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen bet builder predictions

Second half to have more goals
Only one of Leverkusen's 12 knockout-stage goals came before half-time and there were more goals in the second half in Atalanta's wins over Sporting, Liverpool and Marseille

Alex Grimaldo to have over 1.5 shots 
The marauding Leverkusen wing-back averaged 2.2 shots per game in the Bundesliga and has had seven attempts in his last five Europa League appearances

Davide Zappacosta to be shown a card
Grimaldo and Florian Wirtz should cause problems for Atalanta's right-sided defenders and Zappacosta has been booked five times in 22 Serie A starts this term

Pays out at 11-1 with bet365

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