Manchester City v Atalanta match preview

Manchester City look to extend their lead at the top of Champions League Group C as they face bottom side Atalanta at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Off the back of a huge weekend in the Premier League for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s men will look to carry that momentum into the midweek European action against Atalanta, Italy’s Cinderella story from a year ago.

Atalanta have not dropped their domestic form from last season, however. They currently sit in third in the Serie A table after eight matches played with 17 points, five off leaders Juventus and once again in contention for a top-four finish.

This has not been the case in the club’s maiden European voyage, however. Atalanta sit bottom of Group C without a point after a 4-0 bludgeoning from Dinamo Zagreb and a 90th minute winner by Shakhtar Donetsk’s Manor Solomon.

With back-to-back fixtures against City, the Italian side’s hopes of qualification for the knockout stage appear to be on their last legs. To compound their misery, leading goalscorer Duvan Zapata has been ruled out of the match with an abductor injury sustained during international duty with Colombia. Zapata has six goals and three assists in seven league matches this season.

On the other hand, City returned to form well in the 2-0 away win against Crystal Palace and allowed several key names to rest in preparation for the third round of group stage action. Despite earlier reports of his progress in training, John Stones was not deemed fit enough to start the match, although he did get some action to recover his match fitness after being brought on in the 79th minute at Selhurst Park.

The possible return of Stones to the starting XI in the Champions League could have an impact as City did not field a central defender at the weekend. Sergio Agüero could also feature after missing the game in South London due to a car accident during the international break, although he was thankfully unharmed. Fullbacks Oleks Zinchenko and Kyle Walker could also get back into the action after missing Saturday’s match.

With Manchester City trending upward while Atalanta appear to be in serious trouble on the continental front, this should be a straightforward affair for the hosts. Moreover, with several key names returning to the fray for the Blues and Atalanta missing one of their biggest stars, this could be a difficult night for the side that managed a shock top four run a year ago in the Italian top flight.

Expect City to dominate much of the ball in the attacking third as they aim to control proceedings, but they should not underestimate Atalanta on the break. Zapata’s replacement Luis Muriel scored two goals in five minutes in the weekend’s 3-3 draw against Lazio and is a real threat with his pace on the break. Moreover, star attacking midfielder Alejandro “Papu” Gómez is in stellar form, also scoring at the weekend and will be a perpetual threat to break down the City defense in transition.

The Italian club have been vulnerable at the back, however, as they blew a 3-0 lead at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio for a 3-3 draw, presenting a real opportunity for City’s attackers to make their mark on Tuesday’s game.

Heading into the group stage, I believed that Atalanta would be City’s biggest threat in Group C. While that perhaps has not come to fruition so far due to their lack of European pedigree, scheduling, and injuries, this will not be a walk in the park. If City perform up to their best, however, they have more than enough quality to absolutely roll this team and pick up a massive result at home to establish a stranglehold on the group’s top spot after matchday three.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Atalanta