Liverpool vs Atalanta Preview

After a disappointing draw in the Premier League, Liverpool will turn their attention to the UEFA Europa League (UEL) this Thursday when they welcome Atalanta to Anfield for the first leg of the quarter-final of their UEL fixture.

The Reds missed the opportunity to return to the top of the Premier League table with a disappointing 2-2 draw with Manchester United at the weekend. Jürgen Klopp’s side were the better team at Old Trafford but poor finishing and defensive mistakes allowed Erik ten Hag’s men the chance to hurt them.

Klopp will hope his boys have learnt from their mistakes against United as they attempt to reach the final of the UEL eight years on from their last final appearance. Before reaching that 2016 final, Klopp’s side played out a historic win over Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals with a 91st-minute Dejan Lovren goal completing a memorable 4-3 comeback in that game.

Anfield will hope to witness another one of its famed European nights here. The famous stadium and its fans will be desperate to contribute to their team’s success here again as the Reds have won 13 of their last 17 European home matches (D2, L2).

However, the defeat that kicked off that run came against Atalanta when these two shared a UEFA Champions League group in 2020/21. Liverpool won 5-0 at the Gewiss Stadium but the Serie A side returned the favour with a 2-0 win at Anfield.

Atalanta will fancy their chances of repeating that famous win here as they remain unbeaten in this season’s UEFA Europa League. The Bergamo-based club went unblemished in Group D (W4, D2) and continued that trait with a 3-2 aggregate win over Sporting last round.

They are not just doing well this season, they have been a different beast in this competition for some time as highlighted by the fact they’ve only ever lost three of their 28 games in the competition (W16, D9). All those results came under long-term manager Gian Piero Gasperini who has also guided his side to a record of just two defeats in their last 17 European away matches (W8, D7).