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Three weeks on from a dismal defeat in Dortmund, Celtic will aim to get their Champions League campaign back on track against Atalanta BC when the teams meet on Wednesday.
The Hoops head for Bergamo having just seen their perfect domestic start ended, while Atalanta have posted three straight wins either side of the international break.
Match preview
© Imago
Having held Arsenal to a goalless draw on the opening matchday, Atalanta produced a fine first-half performance to take control of their second Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this month.
Berat Djimsiti and Europa League final hero Ademola Lookman both found the net before the break, and Raoul Bellanova's 48th-minute strike then made it three goals and three points for the Lombardy club.
That win sparked a revival for Gian Piero Gasperini's inconsistent side, who went on to smash Genoa 5-1 - partly thanks to a hat-trick from former Rossoblu striker Mateo Retegui - and then see off Venezia last weekend.
Retegui took his tally to eight goals in as many league games for La Dea with the second in Venice, following two from two for Italy in the UEFA Nations League, helping Atalanta move up to sixth in the Serie A standings.
They are now looking to win successive Champions League matches for the first time since doing so in March 2020, during a bittersweet pandemic-scarred campaign that saw them travel all the way to the quarter-finals.
With four points on the board already, Gasperini has set his sights on automatic qualification for the knockout stage, which would require a top-eight finish in the league-phase table.
Including their triumphant run to last season's Europa League final, Atalanta have lost only two of their last 16 European matches, keeping a clean sheet in the last four, so they will keenly await their first competitive meeting with any Scottish side.
© Imago
On the surface, Celtic should be full of confidence before arriving in Bergamo, having won 10 of 12 games played this season; however, the exceptions were Saturday's disappointing home draw with potential title rivals Aberdeen and a Champions League thrashing in Germany.
The Hoops fell victim to a merciless performance from brilliant Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, being crushed 7-1 in their first away fixture of the league phase as Karim Adeyemi ran riot with a first-half hat-trick.
As much as an opening 5-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava had the Scottish champions flying high, that truly brought them back down to earth with a bump, so Brendan Rodgers must quickly find a solution to a pair of longstanding problems.
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Celtic have conceded more goals than anyone else in UEFA's top club competition (38), while over the past seven years they have lost eight of their last nine fixtures away from home, conceding an average of four goals per game in the process.
The Glasgow giants won the European Cup in 1967 and were runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, but they have reached the Champions League's knockout stages only three times to date - and they already face a tough task to even reach the playoffs.
After letting Aberdeen fight back to steal a point at the weekend, in a game they had led 2-0, Celtic must now hope to keep things tight against one of Serie A's most potent teams, having previously lost every one of their seven Champions League visits to Italy.
Atalanta BC Champions League form:
Atalanta BC form (all competitions):
Celtic Champions League form:
Celtic form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
Easing their injury woes, Atalanta welcomed back Matteo Ruggeri and Berat Djimsiti on Sunday, while Sead Kolasinac should return to action in midweek after being laid low by illness.
Rafael Toloi, Marco Brescianini and Odilon Kossounou are still sidelined, though, in addition to long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini.
Without Scamacca to lead the line, Gian Piero Gasperini has relied upon Serie A top scorer Mateo Retegui and Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman to share the burden up front. The latter has been directly involved in eight goals from his last five starts in European competition - most notably netting a hat-trick to win the Europa League final.
Meanwhile, Daizen Maeda has scored in both Champions League matches this season and could become the first Celtic player to score for three successive games in the competition. He is set to link up with fellow forwards Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn at the Gewiss Stadium.
Left-back Greg Taylor is ruled out by a hamstring problem, while key defender Cameron Carter-Vickers has not played since suffering a foot injury on the opening matchday; Alex Valle and Auston Trusty should continue to deputise.
Liam Scales - who recently scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland, soon after getting on the scoresheet against Slovan Bratislava - and Alistair Johnston make up the rest of the Bhoys' back four, ahead of veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Samardzic, Lookman; Retegui
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
We say: Atalanta BC 2-0 Celtic
Having had their fingers burnt by trying to go toe-to-toe with Dortmund, surely Celtic will take a more measured approach against in-form Atalanta.
Nonetheless, their defensive frailties will still be exposed by a home side now finding their rhythm after a summer of uncertainty and disruption.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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