After missing a huge opportunity against Arsenal on Matchday 1, Atalanta continue their Champions League campaign away at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night.
Mateo Retegui was handed the chance from the penalty spot to break open a tight and cagey tie with the Gunners less than two weeks ago, but the Italian international was quite incredibly denied on two occasions by David Raya. Both sides struggled to create much in the aftermath, although Atalanta must’ve been content with a point against the Premier League side.
La Dea, the Europa League holders, will back themselves to earn their first win of the league phase in Gelsenkirchen against a Shakhtar side that’s growing familiar with Italian opposition.
The Ukrainians also had issues from the penalty spot on Matchday 1 as the highly-regarded Georhiy Sudakov had his effort saved by Bologna’s Łukasz Skorupski early on. Shakhtar struggled through the remainder of the contest and were perhaps fortunate to escape with a stalemate.
Their early-season domestic woes would suggest this is far from a vintage Shakhtar outfit.
Here is your guide to Shakhtar Donetsk vs Atalanta on Wednesday evening.
Location: Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Stadium: Arena AufSchalke
Date: Wednesday 2 October
Kick-off Time: 17:45 BST / 12:45 ET / 09:45 PT
Referee: Joao Pinheiro (POR)
VAR: Tiago Martins (POR)
Danylo Sikan has scored three times for the home side this season, but he suffered a broken nose on Matchday 1 against Bologna and has been on the sidelines since. His status is in doubt for Wednesday’s game.
Long-term absentee Tymur Puzankov is closing in on his comeback, but that’s likely to arrive after the international break. Shakhtar will be able to call upon Yukhym Konoplya given that he returned to action on Friday.
Sudakov may have struggled to impress for Ukraine at Euro 2024, but the playmaker is the man Atalanta will have to keep in check in this one.
Shakhtar predicted lineup vs Atalanta (4-2-3-1): Riznyk; Konoplya, Matviyenko, Bondar, Pedrinho; Bondarenko, Kyrskiv; Zubkov, Sudakov, Newerton; Traore.
The visitors have a few injury concerns in defence, and Gian Piero Gasperini will hope he can once again call upon Isak Hien after the brutish centre-half missed Atalanta’s 1-1 draw with Bologna at the weekend.
While Hien has a chance of featuring, Ben Godfrey and Rafael Toloi remain out.
Marco Brescianini suffered a hamstring injury at the weekend and isn’t expected to return to action until next month. Saturday’s saviour Lazar Samardzic and Mateo Retegui should come into Gasperini’s XI on Wednesday, with one of Ademola Lookman or Charles De Katelaere dropping to the bench.
Atalanta predicted lineup vs Shakhtar (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Kossounou, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Samardzic, Lookman; Retegui.
Gasperini dialled down Atalanta’s intensity against Arsenal, but you should expect a far different side to emerge on Wednesday night. Bologna’s work without the ball troubled Shakhtar two weeks ago, and the visitors will surely see the hosts’ vulnerable build-up as an avenue to exploit.
This just doesn’t appear to be a particularly good Shakhtar team, and playing their home games away from Ukraine undoubtedly hinders them. Overall, Atalanta will be confident of securing their first win of the league phase, and they could do so with relative ease.
