Atalanta vs Sporting Prediction: La Dea to secure top spot

Atalanta and Sporting lock horns at the Gewiss Stadium on Thursday in Group D of the Europa League.

Atalanta sit top of the group, three points clear of second-placed Sporting, knowing a share of the spoils would be enough to send them into the last-16 stage of the competition.

La Dea picked up a crucial 2-1 victory in Lisbon in the reverse fixture and that has provided the Serie A outfit with the head-to-head advantage heading into this contest.

Team News

Atalanta remain without injured striker El Bilal Toure, who is out for an undisclosed length of time, but Marten de Roon is in line to return after missing the weekend defeat to Napoli due to suspension.

Sporting welcomed back Geny Catamo from injury at the weekend, the 22-year-old playing an hour in the 8-0 victory over Dumiense, but he may be dropped down to the bench to manage his workload.

Viktor Gyokeres is expected to be reinstalled into the starting XI for this game after missing the last European fixture due to suspension.

Match Odds

Atalanta are the 11/10 favourites to pick up the win on home soil, with the draw priced at 5/2 and Sporting 15/2 to claim the spoils in Bergamo.

Gianluca Scamacca is Atalanta's top scorer in Serie A this season with five goals and he is 13/8 to find the back of the net anytime, while Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres is 9/5 to bag his third Europa Conference League strike.

Draw @ 5/2

With third-place Sturm Graz just three points behind Sporting, the Portuguese outfit will be wary of allowing the Austrian side to close the gap on them and take things into the final group game between the pair.

Sporting warmed up for Thursday's trip with a 8-0 thrashing of Dumiense in the cup, a fifth victory from their last six outings, but they are unlikely to get that kind of freedom at the Gewiss Stadium.

Atalanta were unbeaten in their first five home games of the campaign before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan, who are currently leading the way in the Italian top flight.

La Dea have lost only one of their last 12 home Europa League assignments and they should have enough to get the point that will confirm their spot in the next round.

Under 2.5 goals @ EVS

Atalanta have been one of the most entertaining teams to watch in recent seasons, with action at both ends, but they have put more emphasis on the defensive side of their game this term.

Five of La Dea's eight home assignments have produced under 2.5 goals, while two of their last three outings across all competitions have also seen the same bet land.

Sporting may be firing on all cylinders at home, but their attacking performances haven't been as good on the road and under 2.5 goals has come off in two of their last three road fixtures.

The Portuguese side may struggle to consistently break down a more resolute looking Atalanta and backing a low-scoring contest looks like the way to go here.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.