Europe Europe League Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg

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Atalanta vs. Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Atalanta:
Musso; De Roon, Djimsiti, Hien; Zappacosta, Pasalic, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Scamacca, De Ketelaere

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Elliott; Salah, Jota, Diaz

Atalanta won 3:0 at Anfield and Liverpool face a huge battle to stay in the Europa League. Klopp decided to start without Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, but that shouldn't be an excuse for the defeat. The former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, but mainly due to Caoimhin Kelleher's mistake. Darwin Nunez was "poor as usual" and missed two big chances, while Harvey Elliott's curling attempt struck the bar before dropping on to the post. Mohamed Salah, who started on the bench, had a goal disallowed for offside, but that was all he did. Scamacca took advantage of being left unmarked by doubling the lead after 60 minutes. Finally, Pasalic set the final 3:0 in the 83rd minute. The winners of this tie will face Benfica or Marseille in the semi-finals.

Atalanta were close to register another victory on Monday. They had a 2:0 lead after first 45 minutes against Hellas Verona thanks to goals scored by Scamacca in the 13th minute and Ederson shortly afterwards. However, Atalanta threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2:2 with struggling opponents. Dropping two points at home to lowly opposition damaged Atalanta's chances for the Top-5 finish as they are 4 points behind fifth-placed Roma with a top-five finish almost certain to yield a spot in next season’s revamped edition of the Champions League. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini was very disappointed with the result, but now turn the focus to Liverpool. He will continue without Giorgio Scalvini due to a hamstring injury, while ex-Arsenal man Sead Kolasinac is rated as doubtful with adductor problem. Finally, Davide Zappacosta is back from a domestic ban and should start on the right.

Liverpool are in the biggest crisis this season. They lost two matches in a row, from Atalanta in Europa League and from Crystal Palace in the Premier League. What is worse, both defeats came at Anfield who was like a fortress previously. Worst of all, Liverpool failed to score a single goal on the mentioned two matches. The strikers are out of confidence and this fact is frustrating. Klopp has to change something and Diogo Jota is ready to start after recovering from a knee injury. Darwin Nunez, whose big chance conversion rate of 19.4% is the worst in Europe's top-five leagues, is maybe Klopp's worst acquisition in the career. Young defender Conor Bradley has overstretched his foot in the loss to Crystal Palace and should be replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold. This should be his first start since recovering from a knee injury. Three players remain long-term absentees - Ben Doak, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara.

Atalanta vs. Liverpool Prediction:

I don't expect many goals in this match. Atalanta won 3:0 at Anfield and they will not risk too much here. Even if concede a goal, their attitude will be the same. La Dea were outsiders in this tie and securing progress is only important. In other words, even a defeat is acceptable, as long as they are overall winners. Liverpool, meanwhile, are in big crisis. The Reds failed to score a single goal on the last two matches, against Atalanta and Crystal Palace. The strikers are out of confidence and I don't expect something spectacular. That is why I will suggest no more than three goals in Bergamo.

Atalanta vs. Liverpool Pick: Under 3.5 goals @ 1.87 with Pinnacle