Liverpool vs Atalanta

Liverpool and Atalanta are set to lock horns in the first leg of their exciting Europa League quarter-final tie at Anfield.

Liverpool’s Premier League title quest took a tumble at the weekend as they drew 2-2 with Manchester United, allowing Arsenal to draw level on points at the summit. However, the Reds secured their first appearance in the Europa League quarter-finals in eight years with their biggest European aggregate win for over four decades when beating Sparta Prague 11-2 in the round of 16. Another emphatic result is on the cards, with Jurgen Klopp’s side going unbeaten in all 24 home outings this season (W21, D3), including three wins on the trot by a combined score of 11-3. Moreover, they have won all four Europa League home games this season via multi-goal margins. Interestingly, none of Liverpool’s 17 home matches against Serie A clubs have ended level (W10, L6).

On the other hand, Atalanta eked out a 3-2 aggregate win against Sporting CP in the previous knockout round to book their first Europa League quarter-final appearance since 2021/22. But the Italians have never progressed beyond this stage in their relatively short European history. Back-to-back domestic defeats via a single-goal margin in the build-up to this trip suggest they’re likely to miss out on the semi-finals again, but there’s a silver lining. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have only lost two of their last 17 away European fixtures (W8, D7), while they ran out 2-0 victors on their only previous visit to Anfield. Adding to Atalanta’s confidence, they’ve reached the quarter-finals unscathed (W5, D3) and have only ever lost three of their 28 games in the competition (W16, D9).