Atalanta travel to the Theatre of Dreams tomorrow for this UEFA Champions League (UCL) fixture. Will the Italian side have enough to pile more pressure on Solskjær?
Manchester United will be hoping to bounce back from a succession of poor results when they take on Atalanta on Wednesday at Old Trafford. The hosts slumped to another league defeat to Leicester City at the weekend and sit only third in UCL Group F. Meanwhile, the visitors are top of the group and come into the match on the back of a 4-1 Serie A victory over Empoli.
In squad news, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team must do without Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, and Amad Diallo because of injury. However, Harry Maguire made a quicker return to action than expected and, whilst he endured a terrible game against his old side Leicester, he looks likely to remain in the backline on Wednesday.
Edison Cavani and Fred returned late from international duty and missed Saturday’s game, but both will hope to feature in this UCL showdown.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s suspension after his red card against Young Boys was reduced to a single game, so the right-back is available for the under-pressure Solskjaer. He will probably return in place of Diogo Dalot.
Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer are both out through injury, so Joakim Maehle and Davide Zappacosta look likely to start in the two wing-back places.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s outfit will also be without Berat Djimsiti and Matteo Pessina who are sidelined with a hand injury and a hamstring problem respectively.
As this is the two sides first meeting in European action, there is no head-to-head form to go on. Atalanta and Manchester United have both been inconsistent so far this season, so this match is a difficult one to call.
United had all sorts of problems with their defence in the loss at Leicester, and Atalanta have perhaps found their rhythm, but the home side will have the Old Trafford crowd behind them and they will know that they cannot afford to lose this game. Therefore, we think this match will be a high-scoring draw. Our prediction is 3-3.
