Atalanta vs. Dortmund – News and Probable Lineups

After falling two goals behind following last week’s opening leg, Atalanta BC will aim to revive their Champions League ambitions when they host Borussia Dortmund in Bergamo on Wednesday.

As the team scheduled to face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the next round, Dortmund is viewed as the favored side to advance to the round of 16.

Match overview

While Atalanta outperformed Borussia Dortmund by two points and two spots in the league phase, granting them home advantage in this return leg, they face a daunting task after their 2-0 defeat last Tuesday.

Following back-to-back losses in Europe in January – against Athletic Bilbao and Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise – La Dea faced another defeat in Germany, where goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier put Dortmund in a commanding position.

Contrary to their strong domestic performance, the Lombardy team struggled in front of goal, registering just seven attempts – marking the lowest tally they’ve had in 42 Champions League outings.

Thus, they now need to become the first team to advance in a knockout tie after losing the first leg by two or more goals since Liverpool’s stunning comeback against Barcelona in 2019.

Aside from that disappointment in Dortmund, Raffaele Palladino’s squad has enjoyed a stellar February, reaching the Coppa Italia semi-finals and steadily climbing in the Serie A table.

Atalanta remains unbeaten in domestic competitions this calendar year – with eight victories and two draws – including a notable win over the Scudetto holders on Sunday.

In that match, two second-half headers saw off Napoli, with Mario Pasalic and Lazar Samardzic scoring to bring La Dea closer to securing a top-four finish.

Hours before Atalanta celebrated their win, Dortmund staged a comeback of their own as Fabio Silva equalized with nearly the last kick in a 2-2 draw against RB Leipzig.

This result left Niko Kovac’s squad eight points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern, whom they will face in the Der Klassiker this weekend and potentially again in the Champions League soon.

The only significant competitors to Germany’s perennial champions, Die Schwarzgelben have suffered just a single defeat in their last 30 league matches, consistently demonstrating their European prowess.

After finishing as runners-up two years ago, the 1997 winners are striving to reach the last 16 for a seventh time in eight seasons, with historical patterns indicating they are likely to succeed again.

To this point, BVB has triumphed in all 10 UEFA ties in which they held a two-goal advantage from the first leg, and their only prior encounters with Atalanta resulted in a 4-2 aggregate victory in the 2017-18 Europa League.

That time, Dortmund managed a 1-1 draw in Bergamo, but they have actually been defeated in five of their last eight visits to Italy.

Additionally, this season they’ve conceded four goals in two of their four Champions League away fixtures – against Manchester City and Juventus – meaning Kovac will be cautious.

Team News

Similar to the first leg, Atalanta will be without forward pair Giacomo Raspadori and Charles De Ketelaere – the latter having made significant contributions with six goal involvements and 20 chances created during the league phase.

Otherwise, Palladino has a fully available squad, as Ederson overcame a slight issue on Sunday and is expected to be fit to start.

After Nikola Krstovic led the attack against Napoli, he might be substituted for Gianluca Scamacca, who was chosen to lead La Dea’s offense in Germany.

On the other hand, Dortmund were missing multiple defenders for the first leg, with Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule, Emre Can, and Filippo Mane all sidelined, allowing teenager Luca Reggiani to earn his first Champions League start.

Schlotterbeck has returned to full training and could be available, but it remains uncertain if he can endure 90 minutes.

BVB boasts 10 different goal scorers in the ongoing campaign, with Guirassy topping the list with four goals. The Guinean forward has now amassed 24 goal involvements from just 23 Champions League matches – already the second-most for Dortmund behind club legend Marco Reus (37).

Atalanta BC probable starting XI:

Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Djimsiti, Ahanor; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Bernasconi; Pasalic, Zalewski; Scamacca

Borussia Dortmund probable starting XI:

Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Nmecha, Bellingham, Svensson; Brandt, beer; Guirassy

Atalanta has experienced some unforgettable European evenings – especially during their run to victory in the Europa League – but reversing the outcome of this tie may be beyond their reach.

With Kovac instilling resilience, Dortmund can maintain composure even in the face of intense pressure.