Atalanta had a sensational pre-season, winning all five of their friendlies with a combined 17-3 goal difference. Mixed in there were two unplanned Europa League ties against FK Sarajevo and Hapoel Haifa. La Dea wasn’t even supposed to play in the qualifiers, but the decision to lift AC Milan’s EL ban put Atalanta on the spot. They responded magnificently to the sudden change, scoring 16 goals in four matches on their way to this playoff round matchup with FC Copenhagen.
1/2 Atalanta 3/1 FC Copenhagen 6/1 bet365
The Danes not only lost the league title last season but finished all the way down in 4th place. As a result, their summer started early, in Europa League’s first qualifying round. There, FC Copenhagen battled past Finnish side KuPS (1-0, 1-1) before eliminating Norway’s Stjarnan (2-0, 5-0) and Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia (2-1, 2-1) in the next two rounds. Their form of late has been excellent as well. Ståle Solbakken’s team currently sits atop Denmark’s Superliga standings (W4, D1, L1) and has scored more goals than any other club in the league.
Overall, FC Copenhagen has won eight of their last ten encounters, drawing the other two. Atalanta has been even better with nine wins (including a 4-0 demolition of Frosinone to open the new Serie A campaign) and a single draw in their last ten, making Thursday night’s game in Reggio Emilia a tough matchup for both. Atalanta host European matches in Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium because their own Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia is being renovated. The start time of this fixture is 20:00 CET.
Atalanta – FC Copenhagen Bet365 Odds
Atalanta has never lost at home in the Europa League/UEFA Cup, which is why the odds of them winning are so low. They performed admirably in the competition last season, topping a group with Everton (3-0, 5-1) and Lyon (1-0, 1-1) before getting knocked out (barely) by Borussia Dortmund (1-1, 2-3) in the Round of 32. As such, they are the favourites to progress, even though they face an opponent which participated in the Champions League last term.
FC Copenhagen to qualify 2.75 (7/4)
Copenhagen has scored in 11 of their last 12 Europa League games, while the hosts have conceded in eight of their last 11. Therefore, plenty of goals are expected.
Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score 2.4 (7/5)
Both teams to score 1.9 (10/11)
Atalanta – FC Copenhagen Injury News
Josip Ilicic and Jose Zeca are the only two notable absentees from this fixture