Atalanta vs Real Madrid Match Preview

Atalanta faces Real Madrid in the first leg of the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

The hosts are sitting at 5th spot of the Italian Serie A, and are fighting for a top-four spot as they are very strong for one more season. Atalanta comes from a big 4-2 win over Napoli and this will give them a significant boost to face Real Madrid. They have a solid attack, actually the 2nd-best in Serie A after Inter, and today will give their best to make the first step that will help them in the upcoming second leg in Madrid.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, comes from 4 consecutive wins in Spanish La Liga and reached 2nd place, having 3 points less than first-placed Atletico Madrid. Today they will play with many missings in their squad, and inevitably their manager Zinedine Zidan couldn't be so optimistic, hoping to get at least a draw here. He definitely hopes to have all of his key players available for the second leg.

One of the most important missings for the visitors is their captain, Sergio Ramos. as well as their key striker Kareem Benzema, while Carvajal, Hazard, Marcelo, Militao, Valverde, Rodrygo, and Odriozola are also unavailable.

Atalanta is in very good shape and will try to take advantage of the significant missings that the visitors have in order to create a big lead for the following round. Home win DNB is my call for this one.