Champions League: Goals are Coming when Barca meet Atalanta

Barcelona vs Atalanta

Two of the most attacking teams in world football come face to face in a fascinating Champions League clash in Catalonia on Wednesday when second placed Barcelona aim for top spot when they face Atalanta.    

Hansi Flick’s Barcelona are already through to the Round of 16 while Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, in seventh place in the league table, need a win to keep hold of their automatic qualification place; and these two teams are always good value with an attacking mindset in both camps. The Blaugrana have won 18 points from a potential 21 and with a goal difference of +15, while La Dea are four points behind with a +14 goal difference. 

And Flick’s men warmed up for this match with a thumping 7-1 win over Valencia to stay fourth in La Liga while La Dea picked up three points in a 2-1 victory away to Como, a result which left them in third place in the Serie A table.        

 

Talking Points

Lewi and Raph are on fire

Barcelona are one of our SBOTOP tips to go deep into the competition, fourth favourites to win the title while veteran goal getter Robert Lewandowski is the favourite to win the Champions League Golden Boot. Last week Flick’s men pulled off a stunning fight back to beat Benfica 5-4 as Lewandowski, with two goals, winger Raphinha with two and Eric Garcia with one dragged Barca back from a 3-1 deficit at half time.    

Lewandowski has scored nine goals in the competition so far with Raphinha bagging eight and both players have been in great form in their domestic league too, Lewi leading the race for the Spanish top scorer with 17 goals from 20 games, two goals more than Kylian Mbappe, while Raphinha is in third place with 12 goals and he has six assists to his name too. With the young prodigy Lamine Yamal on five goals and ten assists and midfield general Pedri back to his best form this is an exciting team to watch, and one capable of giving any side a whacking, just ask Valencia, and Real Madrid, who lost 5-2 to Barca in the Spanish Super Cup, with Lewandowski scoring one and Raphinha two.

These two are lethal.        

 

De Ketelaere is doing it for La Dea

While Barca have ripped up the league stage of Europe’s premier competition, Atalanta’s Champions League 2025 results have been pretty impressive too and Gasperini’s men have certainly done enough to extend their stay. Four wins, two draws and one defeat have put them in a position where one more positive result may be enough to see them straight through to the Round of 16. And the Italians have plenty of firepower in their armoury too.   

Former Fulham striker Ademola Lookman has four goals alongside midfielder Charles De Ketelaere, while Serie A top scorer Mateo Retegui has three, and they will all line up against Barcelona, full of confidence after they slaughtered Sturm Graz 5-0 last week, with all three of them on target.

While Lookman and Retegui are a potent front pair, it is midfielder De Ketelaere who has really stepped up this season after impressing on loan from AC Milan last term. The 23 year old Belgian international scored ten goals last season and he can play as an attacking midfielder or a Number Ten behind a main striker, and he is clearly growing in confidence, often pulling the strings in midfield to unleash the attacking threat of his two strikers.

Not long ago La Dea had hopes of pushing for the Serie A title but they now trail leaders Napoli by seven points, but they are certainly a good bet for a top four place, while more than holding their own in Europe.  

 

History

With five wins and one draw the Blaugrana’s recent form is much stronger than La Dea’s record of two wins, two draws and two defeats from the last six. 

Barca have won all three of their home Champions League fixtures while Atalanta have won all three of their games on the road, which makes our Barcelona vs Atalanta betting tips even more of a challenge.   

 

Betting Tips

The Catalans are favourites to win this clash, at a price of 1.73, while Atalanta can be backed at 3.57 to win or 3.73 to draw; and the way Barcelona’s match against Benfica went, all three outcomes are a distinct possibility; while La Dea put in a five star performance against Sturm Graz. Both teams have an incentive to go for it and I’m looking forward to plenty of goal action.     

   

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