Europe UEFA Champions League, 19-20 October

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Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Atletico Madrid:
Oblak; Felipe, Kondogbia, Hermoso; Trippier, De Paul, Koke, Lemar, Carrasco; Suarez, Griezmann

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane

Atletico Madrid welcome Liverpool at Wanda Metropolitana in the Spanish Capital. This match will be the most interesting fixture in the third round of UEFA Champions League. Atletico are second with four points, while Liverpool are first in the group with maximal six. Both teams are between the favorites for the trophy in the European most prestigious club competition. The Rojiblancos are La Liga champions and they deserve full respect. It is all but easy to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain. Lead by fantastic Diego Simeone, they become one of the best clubs on the continent. In few words, nobody want them as opponents. Two seasons ago they produced a memorable performance against, at the time European champions, Liverpool. Atletico win both matches and the Reds were dumped out. Simeone and his men would want to recreate those memories once again, but it won't be simple. The players confidence is high, particularly after the victories over Milan and Barcelona before the international break. Their scheduled domestic fixture with Granada was postponed due to late arrivals back from international duty, so the players are fresh and had enough time to prepare for this match. Key centre-back Stefan Savic is serving a suspension and his absence is a huge handicap. Matheus Cunha and Jose Gimenez will also miss the game. Luis Suarez will face once again his former club. Two weeks ago he scored against Barcelona, now will try to upset the Merseysiders.

Liverpool are first in Group B with maximal six points. In the first round they beat AC Milan with 3:2. It was an efficient and eventful match. Jurgen Klopp's men heavily attack Milan's goal from the first minute and took an early lead when Tomori deflected a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold into his own net. After that Mohamed Salah missed a penalty. Milan, after being completely outplayed for 42 minutes, scored two easy goals in the space of seconds and took the lead through Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz. The second half was equally interesting as Liverpool managed to win through Salah and Jordan Henderson. In the second round, the Reds destroyed Porto with 5:1. Mohamed Salah's prodded finish gave them an early lead, while Sadio Mane made it 2:0. The second half produced a similar outcome. Salah contributed his second goal with a clinical finish into the bottom right corner, while Mehdi Taremi gave some hope to Porto fans with his header in the 74th minute. However, it was the substitute Roberto Firmino who rounded off a comprehensive victory with his brace. Captain Jordan Henderson should also be mentioned - he was very good in his 400th appearance for the club. Klopp has some injury issues ahead of the trip to Madrid. Curtis Jones, who returned from international duty injured last week, remain in England to build up his fitness in the hope of being available for the upcoming derby with Manchester United. Thiago Alcantara will also miss the match having not recovered fully from the calf problem that has now sidelined him for a month. Brazilian duo Alisson and Fabinho flew straight to Madrid following their late returns from international duty and should start the match.

Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool Prediction:

Atletico Madrid are in excellent home for. They will try to extend their unbeaten home run across all competitions to 13 matches and I believe they are able to continue with positive results here. Liverpool are first in the group with six points, but have a problem when face Atletico. The Reds were eliminated after lost twice in 2020. I believe they will produce problems to Liverpool again.

Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool Pick: Atletico Madrid +0.5 AH @ 1.70 with 888 Sport

 

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FC Porto

They play well in Portugal Primeira Liga this season, which have not suffered any defeat, sitting the second place in League table. But they play poorly in European games. They have not got any victory in Group stage. Now they rank the third in Group B.


AC Milan

They have been unbeaten in Italian Serie A this season, ranking the top in League table. In last game, they defeat Verona with 2 goals down, which inspires them a lot. They are the fourth in Group B. If they do not struggle hard, they will be knocked out of Champion game.


Verdict:

Both of them are in form now. FC Porto get a two-match winning streak even if they play many fronts in these days. AC Milan are full of tenacity, battling back from goals behind to victory in last two games. AC Milan are slightly better than FC Porto. AC Milan are more likely to win in upcoming game.


1x2 Pick: 2

 

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Manchester United vs Atalanta Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Pogba; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo

Atalanta:
Musso; Palomino, Demiral, Toloi; Zappacosta, Freuler, De Roon, Maehle; Malinovskyi, Ilicic; Zapata

Manchester United will try to stop the series of disappointing results when they face Serie A side Atalanta in the Champions League at Old Trafford. Winning this match is extremely important for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as another failure will increase the pressure. So far United were inconsistent and totally unpredictable. Cristiano Ronaldo famously marked his return with two goals in the victory against Newcastle, but then everything went wrong way. The Red Devils were eliminated from the EFL Cup, their Champions League campaign started with a nightmare defeat by the group outsiders Young Boys in Switzerland, while collect just one from the possible nine points in the Premier League. They lost to Aston Villa and Leicester City, and played only a draw with Everton at home. The fans are disappointed and they are afraid this could be another season without trophy. The atmosphere in the squad is far from ideal, while the players confidence is lower. Solskjaer has some additional issues, particularly in defense. Raphael Varane is sidelined due to a groin injury, while Harry Maguire, who has just recovered from a calf injury, was awful against Leicester. Amad Diallo and Anthony Martial remain sidelined through injury, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka is available after his suspension was reduced to a single game.

Atalanta are leaders in Group F with four points. The Italians started the campaign with a 2:2 draw at Villarreal. Freuler opened the result after six minutes, however, the Spanish side managed to turn out the result after Manu Trigueros and Danjuma scored. Nevertheless, the Nerazzurri didn't give up and Gosens steered in a late leveler for Atalanta in the 83rd minute. The dying minutes brought more excitement as Musso stopped Villarreal from snatching a late win with a vital save in the stoppage time. In the second round Atalanta beat Young Boys with 1:0. The only goal was scored by forward Matteo Pessina midway through the second half. Atalanta dominated throughout and Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos pulled off several fine saves before Pessina slid in at the near post to stab home a low Duvan Zapata cross in the 68th minute. They also had a 17th-minute goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check, when Young Boys defender Sandro Lauper turned the ball into his own net, but was let off the hook as Rafael Toloi mistimed his run in the build up. Pessina missed a clear opportunity in the 43rd minute, while Von Ballmoos kept out efforts by Zapata, Davide Zappacosta and substitute Luis Muriel. Atalanta won 4:1 against Empoli in Serie A during the weekend. Two goals from Josip Ilicic, an own goal and a neat Daniel Zapata finish saw La Dea climbing to the sixth place on the table. The players confidence is high and they will tr to upset the Red Devils. Mr Gasperini has four injured players - Hans Hateboer, Robin Gosens, Matteo Pessina and Berat Djimsiti are all ruled out through injury.

Manchester United vs Atalanta Prediction:

I expect both teams to sscore at Old Trafford. This should be an open match. Solskjaer is under heavy pressure after the last poor results. He must order a full-scale offensive. But Atalanta are also dangerous, they are easily scoring goals. Having on mind they will have lot of space for fast counter-attacks, while United will be missing Varane, I expect goals at both sides.

Manchester United vs Atalanta Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.55 with ComeOn