The pressure will be on Liverpool when they return to Europa League action this week. The Reds will have a mountain to climb if they are to keep alive their feint hopes of a treble in Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge after suffering a humbling 3-0 home defeat against Atalanta in last week’s first leg at Anfield.
Liverpool were handed a rude awakening in their hunt for three major trophies in Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge last week. The Reds were hammered 3-0 at Anfield by Serie A’s Atalanta, and they have now gone three matches across all competitions without a victory.
It was a famous evening on Merseyside for the Italian visitors last week, with Gianluca Scamacca netting twice on his return to England. The final goal in the dominant success was netted with seven minutes remaining by Mario Pasalic. However, it could be argued that the Reds were fortunate not to have ultimately lost by a wider margin.
It was the first defeat that Liverpool had suffered at home in 33 European matches, which was their fifth-longest in history. Atalanta’s victory also marked their second straight success at Anfield, marking the first team to do that in successive trips since Barcelona in 2007. A worrying factor for Klopp would be the fact that it was Liverpool’s biggest home defeat in a major European competition, and they were unable to bounce back to form after losing 1-0 at home against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The second leg will mark the 133rd time that an away side has landed a three-goal success in a first leg. It would be a concern for Liverpool that no team has yet been able to overturn that disadvantage throughout European history. Liverpool have also landed wins in three of their last four away matches against Italian opposition, but they were beaten 4-1 by Napoli on their latest visit.
Atalanta’s only victory at home against an English side was achieved in September 2017 against Everton. Liverpool were 5-0 winners in their last trip to Atalanta, with that success being achieved in November 2020. That is the only home defeat that Atalanta has suffered against an English team, with two of the previous encounters also ending in draws.
Atalanta will be without a number of first team stars for this clash with Liverpool on Thursday. Sead Kolasinac is unlikely to return until the end of the month, while defender Giorgio Scalvini is also set to be on the sidelines until the start of May.
Liverpool will have a near fully fit squad to select from for this fixture. Ben Doak remains out until the end of the month, while Thiago Alcantara is unlikely to play another minute for the Reds this season.
Atalanta’s home record deserves a lot of respect ahead of making any wagers this week. The Italian side has lost just once in their last 16 matches at Gewiss Stadium in matches in the Europa League and UEFA Cup. They have recorded ten wins over that period, with five matches ending in draws. Their only defeat was against RB Leipzig in the 2021-22 season.
Liverpool have shown throughout history that they are able to come back from heavy defeats. However, we find it challenging for them to do it in this tie against an Atalanta side with a dominant home record. Therefore, the preference is for a draw in this second leg on Thursday.
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