Liverpool vs Atalanta: Betting Odds & Prediction
Liverpool face Italian side Atalanta at Anfield on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The hosts come into the match after a disappointing 2-2 draw at Manchester United at the weekend, while Atalanta suffered a 2-1 away defeat to Cagliari. Kick-off is set for 8pm local time at Anfield.
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Liverpool
The Reds flew into the quarters by putting a staggering eleven goals past Sparta Prague in the last 16, with forwards Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo both netting braces across the two legs. Liverpool have won all of their four games at home in Europe this season, netting 17 goals past the away sides (averaging 4.25 goals per game).
Jurgen Klopp’s side have also been undefeated at home in all competitions since their 2-1 loss to Leeds United back in 2022. The Italian side have recorded a win over the Reds at Anfield in recent years though, winning their final group stage game 0-2 back in November 2020.
Liverpool come into the game with the second highest expected goals (xG) in the competition at 2.19, rising to 2.57 when playing at home. Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez have been The Reds’ top scorers in the Europa League this season, netting four goals each in the competition.
Liverpool have, however, made habit of conceding goals at Anfield recently, conceding four goals in their last four home matches.
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Atalanta
The Italian side knocked out potential future Liverpool manager Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon side in their last 16 tie, beating them 3-2 over two legs.
Atalanta are undefeated in the Europa League this season and have won two of their four away matches, scoring nine and conceding four (averaging 2.25 goals per game away from home).
The Italians are averaging 1.74 expected goals (xG) in the Europa League this season which is only the ninth highest in the competition. Luis Muriel has been Atalanta’s top scorer in Europe this season, the striker has bagged four goals in the eight games so far.
Prediction
The home side's attacking output has been incredible this term, particularly when playing in front of their own fans. This can be seen further by their average of 4.25 goals per game in home Europan fixtures. We expect Liverpool to put one foot into the semi-finals with another bag of goals on Thursday.