Atalanta vs Villarreal

Atalanta and Villarreal go head-to-head in a ‘make or break’ UEFA Champions League Group F fixture at the Gewiss Stadium.

The final table in an exciting Group F is anything but decided, with Atalanta vying for a victory that would take them to the coveted top-two finish. That may sound a bit bizarre when considered ‘La Dea’ have only won one of their five Champions League matches so far this season (D3, L1), drawing the last two in a row. Interestingly, Atalanta have scored 2+ goals in all four Group F matches they didn’t win, getting on the scoresheet first on each occasion. Meanwhile, their only victory yielded a narrow 1-0 scoreline against Young Boys on Matchday 2. Amongst sides to have played 20+ matches in the Champions League, Atalanta boast the highest goals-per-match ratio with their 22 games in the competition featuring 78 goals (3.8 on average).

In the meantime, after winning two of their opening five Champions League fixtures this term (D2, L1), Villarreal need a draw here to clutch a runner-up finish in Group F. To achieve that, ‘El Sumbarino Amarillo’ have to defy their utterly disappointing away record against Italian opposition in major European competitions, having won just one of their previous eight visits to the country (D3, L4). On the bright side, though, Villarreal thumped Young Boys 4-1 in their most recent Champions League travel to halt a run of five consecutive away defeats in the competition. They’ve never won back-to-back away matches in Europe’s elite tournament, and with an 8-0 humbling of Spanish lower-league outfit Victoria being their solitary success across their last five competitive road trips (D1, L3), it’s likely to stay that way.