Atalanta vs Celtic Prediction: Back the hosts to Win to Nil

The Uefa Champions League continues on Wednesday evening with round three of the revamped format. Scottish Premiership champions Celtic return following a 7-1 defeat in Dortmund last time out. Pressure is mounting on manager Brendan Rodgers to prove his team can compete at this level.

Serie A side Atalanta enjoy home advantage and a proud unbeaten record. The Goddess enter with four points from a possible six and know a home win would boost their chances of securing a place in the finals through a top-eight finish. Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse previews the action, offering his best Atalanta vs Celtic Predictions...

Atalanta enter round three in 11th place with four points on the board. Gian Piero Gasperini’s team opened their account with a hard-fought home draw against Arsenal, but they missed a penalty and a golden opportunity to turn one point into three.

The home side built on that result with an impressive 3-0 away win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Germany. Goals from Ademola Lookman, Berat Djimsiti, and Raoul Bellanova ensured a comfortable outing, and Gasperini plans for more of the same on their return to Bergamo.

Celtic made a blistering start to this season’s Champions League, thumping Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in Glasgow on a memorable night for the club. Five goals from five different scorers on the big stage encouraged fans to dream of blazing a trail of glory to the knockout rounds.

They were quickly brought back to earth by an impressive Borussia Dortmund in Germany on matchday two. Dortmund exploded out of the traps and led 5-1 at the interval before easing to a 7-1 victory. Will Celtic learn the harsh lessons from that night and return to winning ways?

Atalanta vs Celtic Odds

After two games, Atalanta are nine places higher than their opponents in the league standings but have collected just one point more. The locals know victory on their patch could catapult them into the top eight, and Betfred traders seem happy to support them, chalking Atalanta up as strong favourites. The home win is available to you at 4/9, and that’s sure to be popular in midweek accumulators.

Celtic were battered from pillar to post in Germany, and supporters weren’t slow in voicing their discontent. Another heavy defeat on the continent could increase pressure on Rodgers, but a win would keep them in the running for a spot in the finals. Do Celtic have a chance of causing an upset in Italy? You can back the visitors at 6/1 with Betfred or try the draw at a tempting 18/5.

When we convert all of these price into implied odds, it comes out as the Betfred traders believe Atalanta have a 69% chance of winning the match. The draw comes in as a 22% shot and the hopes of the Hoops flying back to Glasgow with three big Champions League points in their back pocket is rated as a 14% possibility of happening.

Atalanta win to nil

I fancy a home win on Wednesday in Italy, and I expect Atalanta to get the job done in style. They enter on the back of a 2-0 away win over Venezia in Serie A and battered Genoa 5-1 when last appearing at this venue.

Atalanta impressed when beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 on the road and although they’re unlikely to win the Champions League trophy this season, they are major players.

Celtic continue to make the same mistakes in Europe when attempting to fight fire with fire. We saw against Dortmund how quickly games can get away from them, and the Hoops must improve. Celtic did score in Germany, but Atalanta will control the game off an organised defence, and we’re backing the home team to win without conceding.