Group- F leaders Manchester United will travel to Italy to face Atalanta in their second meeting in 12-days in the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 campaign. The Reds scored three goals in the second half to complete a 3-2 victory over the Italian club in the previous round.
Manchester United lost their first match of the season away at Young Boys. Since then, they have never looked back and took six points in the next two games. The Red Devils have scored six goals and conceded five in return.
The Red Devils made an excellent comeback in the previous game against Atalanta after conceding two goals within the first 30 minutes of the match. The above viz shows the shot map of the English club in the previous fixture. The team attempted 21 shots and had nine shots on target. 66.7% of the shots were attempted from inside the opposition box, and the team was unlucky as one of the shots from a very close range hit the post.
One of the main concerns for Ole’s men is their defense. United have conceded a goal in every match and have a high expected goal against rate this season. The team averages to concede around 1.7 goals per 90. In their previous match, Atalanta scored within the first 30-minutes and Manchester United had to make a comeback.
Manchester United will rely on their top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has scored in all three fixtures and has attempted 11 shots towards the opposition goal. His fellow countryman, Bruno Fernandes, has contributed three assists this season. Ole has no fresh injury concerns, and Paul Pogba could feature after missing the weekend league fixture due to suspension.
Atalanta will be disappointed after conceding a two-goal lead which cost them the match against Manchester United. The Italian club has earned four points and is currently in the third position in Group F.
Atalanta have been an attacking side in the recent seasons. They have scored five goals and conceded the same number of goals in the current campaign. The above viz shows the positional attacks created by the teams in the three matches played. Atalanta is ranked sixth when it comes to the positional attacks created. The team averages more than 36 attacks per 90 and have attempted 26 shots in the process. Overall, the team has attempted 39 shots and have 16 shots on target. Out of these 39 shots, 20 have been attempted from outside the opposition box.
The Italian club has the same problem as their opponents. They have conceded five goals in the campaign and scored three goals in the previous round. The above viz shows the defensive duels contested by Atalanta in the previous fixture. The team lost more than 50% of the defensive duels, as their defenders contested 27 duels and won only seven of them. Three duels resulted in a neutral result, and they lost 17 defensive duels.
Atalanta have five different goalscorers this season, and four players have provided an assist for these goals. Duvan Zapata has made the highest goal contributions. The striker has two assists to his name.
Manchester United go high in confidence in this game. The Red Devils completed a 3-0 victory over Spurs in the English Premier League. They have already made a comeback against the same opponents once and will look to hold their position in the group. Atalanta, on the other hand, will look to avenge the loss at their home stadium.
