Football Bet of the Day: Gunners face tough trip to Bergamo

One of the standout ties in the Champions League on Thursday sees Europa League winners Atalanta welcome Arsenal to northern Italy (20:00, live on TNT Sports 1), with the contest featuring in my football bet of the day.

Both teams will be keen to get off the mark at the first time of asking in this season's new-look league phase, but this could be a tough assignment for Mikel Arteta’s visitors ahead of a crunch Premier League showdown with title rivals Manchester City at the weekend.

Atalanta vs Arsenal Odds

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Arsenal remain unbeaten in 2024/25 following Sunday's win at Tottenham in the first north London derby of the season, but injuries have not been far away from Arteta's thoughts in the opening weeks of term.

The Gunners lost summer signing Mikel Merino in his first training session with the club and captain Martin Odegaard suffered an ankle injury while on international duty with Norway at the start of the month.

Odegaard missed the win at Spurs alongside fellow midfield star Declan Rice, who was suspended on Sunday but is free to retake his place in the Gunners engine room against Atalanta.

Arteta would be forgiven for having one eye on Sunday's huge league clash at the Etihad on Sunday, so he could make at least a few changes to his starting XI in Italy.

It could mean Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Jakub Kiwior are handed starts as Arsenal seek a positive result in their first league phase outing.

However, Arsenal’s recent away record in Europe doesn’t make good reading as they have won just one of their last six Champions League games on the road.

Football Odds

Atalanta shocked many with their run to Europa League success last season, beating Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen en route to lifting the trophy.

That success has given them another crack at the Champions League and they will be determined to give a good account of themselves in Europe’s premier club competition.

They have won just three of their previous 12 Champions League home games but they have drawn with Manchester City, Ajax and Manchester United, so they could prove a tough nut to crack.

Atalanta have played just one home game in Serie A this season due to the reconstruction of their Gewiss Stadium base, a 3-2 success over Fiorentina on Sunday.

Ademola Lookman scored the winner at the weekend while Atalanta's opening goal was registered by Italy international striker Mateo Retegui, who has scored four times in his opening four league outings this term and will go in search of his first Champions League goal on Thursday.

There have been three or more goals in all four of Atalanta’s contests this season, while Arsenal have found the net six times across their opening four games.

The hosts are expected to be without injured duo Ben Godfrey, who joined Atalanta from Everton in the summer, and ex-West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca.

Offers

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League game on Tuesday or Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Champions League games.

Build your own Bet Builder bet (3/1+) of 4+ legs on Atalanta v Arsenal and get 50% of your stake back in Free Bets if you lose. (Credited within 24 hours).

We will be Top Price or joint Top Price on Arsenal to beat Atalanta with selected bookmakers using oddschecker.com for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Thursday).

Double Delight & Hat-Trick Heaven: Place a pre-match single bet on the first goalscorer market and get DOUBLE or TREBLE the odds if your winning First Goalscorer bet scores a 2nd and 3rd.

You can read all our latest Football Bets of the Day at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.