Atalanta vs Manchester United

Atalanta and Manchester United are set to lock horns in a crunch UEFA Champions League Group F fixture at the Gewiss Stadium.

Atalanta will have revenge on their minds, as they turned a 2-0 half-time lead into a 3-2 defeat in the reverse fixture, throwing their progression hopes into doubt. Despite winning just one of their opening three Group F matches (W1, D1, L1), ‘La Dea’ are level on points with second-placed Villarreal and two adrift of group leaders Man United, meaning they need to grind out a positive result here. Yet, having won just one of their five historical Champions League meetings with English clubs (D1, L3), the Italians face an uphill task of securing the three points here. However, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men can draw inspiration from their impressive recent home record in the Champions League, as they’ve lost just two of their last eight home matches in the competition (W3, D3).

In the meantime, Manchester United have bounced back from a shocking 2-1 defeat to Young Boys on Matchday 1 with a pair of come-from-behind victories over Villarreal and Atalanta to claim a top place in Group F. That said, the ‘Red Devils’ head into proceedings on the back of three consecutive away losses in the Champions League and could lose four in a row for the first time in the club’s history. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have been ruthless against Italian opponents lately, picking up eight victories in their last 11 Champions League such match-ups (D2, L1). That bodes well with their efforts to record their 150th Champions League win, which would see them become the first English side to reach that milestone. After dismantling Tottenham 3-0 over the weekend, Man United will travel to Bergamo in high spirits.