Atalanta vs Valencia 20/02/20

20 February 2020

Atalanta and Valencia go head-to-head at the Stadio San Siro in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (CL) last-16 tie.

Unbeaten in their last four competitive fixtures (W3, D1), the hosts seem to have managed to overcome a slight crisis that had seen them go three straight matches without a win (D1, L2). Atalanta’s tendency to go all-out attack has seen each of their previous six games in all competitions produce over 2.5 goals, with five seeing both teams on the scoresheet. By extension, all but one of Atalanta’s previous 13 matches have featured three goals or more, including the last six at home. Impressively, ‘La Dea’ have secured their place in the CL knockout stages in their first-ever appearance in the competition, finishing second in Group C, seven points adrift of Manchester City. Notably, they’ve started their European journey with three consecutive defeats, but two wins in the last three group stage fixtures were enough for Atalanta to reach the round of 16.

Winless in their last three competitive matches (D1, L2) the visitors are having a hard time, and a trip to Italy could be a great opportunity for them to get back to winning ways. But, a genuine lack of away goals could be a real problem for Valencia here. They’ve scored one goal or less in each of their last seven road trips, with three of the five goals they’ve managed across those games arriving in the first half. In turn, the Oranges have scored under 1.5 goals in their last 12 continental trips, qualifying included. Yet, a 1-0 away win over Ajax in the final Group H fixture has helped Valencia to seal their place in the knockout stages, as they remain unbeaten away from home in the competition this season (W2, D1).