Atalanta vs. Club Brugge: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Atalanta's form has dipped recently, but we still fancy them to get the job done here. In Mateo Retegui, they have the top scorer in Serie A, and Club Brugge come into this one winless in their last four games away from home.

Brugge will likely make life difficult, and the game may well to to extra-time, but we think the Serie A will reign supreme. Atalanta 3-1 Club Brugge (a.e.t).

With the tie finely in the balance, Atalanta take on Club Brugge as they hope to avoid their Champions League campaign coming to a premature end.

• Date: 18/02/2025
• Kick-off time: 20:00
• Location: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo

Atalanta fell to a 2-1 defeat in the first leg in Brugge. The Serie A side started the game uncharacteristically slowly and fell 1-0 down after just 15 minutes. With the home side in complete control, Atalanta fought to get a foothold in the game and finally came back into it as the half wore on, equalising through Mario Pašalić on the stroke of half-time.

The second half was much more even, with both sides giving as good as they were getting in a very entertaining contest. The game looked as though it was heading for a draw, but in the dying seconds, the home side were awarded an extremely dubious penalty, a decision that provoked an angered reaction from Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini - “The trouble now is we all have to run around like penguins, with our arms glued to the sides of our bodies, jump like penguins too. The rules are now so far away from what the players say or think. Football is becoming a completely different sport.”, the 67-year-old claimed.

Gasperini has a point, no doubt, but the decision, correct or incorrect, is now a sunk cost, and Italian must find a way to help his team recover this tie in the face of mounting issues. Atalanta’s form has dipped at the worst time, with the Serie A club losing star player Ademola Lookman to injury. Lookman’s injury is not serious, but he’s unlikely to be fit in time for this game and his absence is proving a big issue for Gasperini.

Even without Lookman, Atalanta have enough quality to win this game, but Brugge have proven capable of delivering stubborn performances, so they’ll make life difficult for the reigning Europa League champions here.

Club Brugge will feel as though they’re on the verge of a huge upset. After what was a very strong performance in the first leg, their confidence will be high. The Belgians were very dominant in the early portion of the game and while it did become a more even contest as they game progressed, they never looked second best at any point.

There are, though, new challenges that will come with playing away from home, and Brugge’s performances on the road have been mixed in this competition this season. A 1-0 win at Sturm Graz was followed by 3-1 defeats at Manchester City and AC Milan and a 1-1 draw with Celtic, so it feels like they’re going to have to produce one of their finest performances of the season to get the necessary result to send them through here.

This is only the second time that Brugge have appeared in the knockout stage of the Champions League, so they’ll want to treasure the occasion. The reigning champions of Belgium have enjoyed a strong second half to the season so they’re well prepared for this tie, even if they remain the underdogs. They know they only need a draw to progress, so expect them to concede the vast majority of the possession in an attempt to contain Atalanta, which is the way they’ve approached most of their away game in the Champions League this season.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 1.

Atalanta Team News:

Atalanta are struggling quite heavily on the injury front with Ademola Lookman, Sead Kolašinac, Daniel Maldini, Odilon Kossounou, Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini all out injured.

Gian Piero Gasperini rested a handful of names at the weekend, with Éderson, Marten de Roon and Charles De Ketelaere all likely come back into the starting XI.

Predicted lineup: Brescianni; Tolói, Hien, Posch; Bellanova, Éderson, De Roon, Zappacosta; Pašalić; De Ketelaere, Retegui.

Club Brugge Team News:

The visitors are likely to be without Bjorn Meijer once again, but he should be the only injury absentee.

After a good win in the first leg, the Belgians will likely name the same starting XI for this one.

Predicted lineup: Mignolet; Seys, Ordóñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari; Talbi, Vanaken, Tzolis; Jutglà.

Atalanta:

Atalanta find themselves quite heavily out of form, with Gasperini's men managing only one win from their last five. Last time out, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Cagliari, a result that followed their 2-1 defeat in Belgium last week.

Before that, Atalanta hammered Verona 5-0 away from home, with Mateo Retegui scoring four goals on top of Éderson's strike, which came after a 0-1 defeat to Bologna and a 1-1 draw with Torino, with Berat Djimsiti scoring the goal.

Club Brugge:

Club Brugge's form is solid, with the Belgians winning two, drawing two and losing one of their last five. Most recently, Brugge drew 2-2 away at Sint-Truiden, where goals from Hans Vanakan and Christos Tzolis helped them come back from 2-0 down, which was preceded by the 2-1 win over Atalanta last week.

Prior to that, Brugge beat OH Leuven 1-0 thanks to a Gustaf Nilsson, which was preceded by a 1-1 draw at Gent and a 2-1 loss to Antwerp.

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