PSG and Atalanta are playing their match for the 1st round of the Champions League’s League Phase, at Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain.
What We Know
- These two faced each other in August 2020, for the competition’s knockout quarter finals (during Covid). PSG won 2-1.
- Five of PSG’s last six Champions League games ended with over 2.5 goals.
- All of Atalanta’s last three Champions League games saw BTTS and over 2.5 goals scored.
- The Italians have not won any of their last four matches in the competition.
Betting Tip: PSG – Atalanta
This is a match with a very clear favourite. This Atalanta team has pretty much no shot in challenging a team like Paris Saint-Germain, who appear to continue where they left off last season. The odds for a PSG win are really low, and we need to combine it with over 2.5 goals to get value.
- Recommendation: PSG to win + over 2.5.
- Odds: 1.95 (at the time of writing)
Paris Saint-Germain
Last season was a historic one for Paris Saint-Germain. Apart from winning the Ligue 1 as usual (with a 19-point difference between them and second-place Marseille), alongside the Coupe de France, the team finally reached the pinnacle of European football for the first time.
This incredible run lasted almost throughout the summer, as Paris Saint-Germain reached the final of the reorganised Club World Cup. There, they met their match in Conference League champions Chelsea, who defeated them comfortably (3-0).
Things went better against another English team, as PSG managed to score twice in the last five minutes to send the Super Cup game against Spurs to penalties, where the Parisians won yet another title.
It’s abundantly clear that there is no one to challenge them domestically, so the biggest goal is to repeat as European champions.
Manager Luis Enrique decided to part ways with goalkeeper Donnarumma, who is now a Manchester City player. His replacement is Lucas Chevalier (LOSC Lille), while the team’s most expensive transfer was the addition of Ilya Zabarnyi (centre back, Bournemouth).
Atalanta
Atalanta entered a new era as longstanding and successful manager Giampiero Gasperini is no longer at the helm. His replacement is Croatian manager Ivan Juric.
Last season was deemed successful, since the team was able to finish in the top four of the Serie A and to secure a big financial (and prestige) boost by qualifying directly into the League Phase of the Champions League.
On top of that, the club’s coffers were filled with 85 million from the sales of Mateo Retegui (centre forward, Al Qasdiah) and Matteo Ruggeri (left back, Atletico Madrid). Atalanta spent part of that cash to bring over Krstovic (centre forward, Lecce) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (winger, Southampton).
The summer was far from idyllic for the team from Bergamo. Nigerian forward Lookman angled for a move to Inter and feuded with the team for several weeks. Atalanta are certainly not better than last season, and the competition is tougher, so the outcome is not great. Their start in the new Serie A is far from encouraging as well.
