Atalanta’s absence from major UEFA competition lasted just one season, as by virtue of a fifth-placed finish in Serie A (SA) last season, they return to the UEFA Europa League (UEL) this week. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men continued their mixed start to the new SA season (W2, L2) after losing 3-2 to Fiorentina on Sunday, a defeat that extends a curious record of none of their previous 12 competitive matches ending level (W7, L5).
La Dea’s return to the Gewiss Stadium is perhaps timely, as they have won five of their last six home matches in all competitions, scoring 3+ goals in each of those victories, including a 3-0 success over Monza earlier this season. Atalanta were strong here in their last UEL group stage too, winning all three matches they hosted in 2017/18, so they’ll be very confident of starting this campaign on the right foot.
Polish champions from Raków are making their maiden appearance in the group stage of any European competition, but they’ve had to shake off the disappointment of narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Copenhagen in the final play-off round. To their credit, they’ve reacted well since, winning back-to-back league games ‘to nil’, including a 1-0 victory over LKS Lodž on Saturday.
Dawid Szwarga’s side boast a respectable European away record (W5, D3, L2), with four wins from their last seven such outings. That strong form on the road has continued into this season with Rakow on the losing side just once from five away assignments in 2023/24 (W2, D2), a sequence that should inspire confidence they can pull off a big upset in Bergamo.
Players to watch: Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman has scored nine of his 13 goals for the club after half-time, including the last four in a row. Raków’s Srdjan Plavišić can be considered a European specialist, directly contributing to six goals in continental action from his stints with Slavia and Sparta Prague (G2, A4).
Hot stat: Atalanta have outscored their opponents in the second half of five of their last seven matches (D2).
