Atalanta vs Manchester City 07/11/19

7 November 2019

Manchester City travel to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to take on Group C rock-bottom side Atalanta looking to seal their place in the UEFA Champions League (CL) round of 16.

Nailed to the bottom of Group C, the debutants have lost all three of their opening CL matches, conceding 11 goals while scoring two. Both CL goals they have scored so far have come in the 28th minute, although just one has come from the open play. However, Atalanta’s leaky defense is their ‘Achilles heel’ as they’ve conceded at least one goal in all six halves of the CL football played this term. Additionally, La Dea have shipped 2+ match goals in four of their last five games in all competitions, scoring at least two on three of those occasions, though. Still, the Serie A outfit boast an impressive European home record (W10, D6, L2), having lost just one of their previous 13 continental games at home (W6, D6).

Meanwhile, the visitors are one their way of securing a place in the knockout stage, as they’ve won all three of their group fixtures, each by a multiple-goal margin. In fact, the Citizens have conceded only one goal in the group stage, with six of ten goals they’ve netted so far coming in the second half. Unstoppable in the final third, Pep Guardiola’s men have bagged 2+ match goals in five successive competitive games in the build-up to this clash. Nine of 15 total goals they’ve scored in that sequence have arrived after the break. But, the Premier League giants have endured mixed fortunes against Italian opponents recently (W4, D4, L3), although they’ve pulled off two wins in the previous three trips to Italy.