Man Utd vs Atalanta Preview and Betting Tips

At the weekend, Man Utd were plunged into crisis. They were thoroughly outplayed, outworked and outfought by The Foxes in an emphatic and fully deserved 4-2 defeat. Paul Pogba was booked late on, landing us a nice 10/3 winner but unfortunately our draw/btts bet was foiled by two late Leicester goals. Now Utd face another extremely tricky test, this time against an adventurous Atalanta side. Utd are as short as 1.80 to get the win they so desperately need. The draw is 4.20 and the Italians can be backed at as big as 4.50. Is there another upset on the cards, or will Solskjaer make the adjustments required? Check out our Man Utd vs Atalanta preview below.

Man Utd

Before this season started, I was expecting this Utd team to challenge for the title. However, the decision to sign Ronaldo (and sell Dan James) is looking disastrous. Since the Portuguese striker returned, Utd’s performances have deteriorated with every game. Last time vs Leicester was the worst of the lot. Ronaldo (and Pogba) do not work hard enough when out of possession and this left Man Utd wide open in the middle of the park.

Nemanja Matic faced a thankless task in the holding role and he was repeatedly overrun. Leicester’s midfielders and attackers had a field day and it didn’t help that Harry Maguire looked 60% fit. The return of Fred will help matters and he will likely be back in the engine room alongside McTominay. Pogba, who was very vocal about ‘changes’ after Saturday’s defeat, will surely be dropped, especially now that Rashford is back fit. The same fate likely awaits the hugely disappointing Jadon Sancho.

McFred Could Be Key

If Utd have Fred and McTominay in the middle and Rashford and Greenwood out wide, they may well be able to cover for Ronaldo’s complete lack of work rate. Personally, I would start Cavani or even Martial (if fit) up top and if a goal is needed late on, then bring on Ronaldo. However, there was uproar in the media when Ronaldo didn’t start in the 1-1 draw against Everton (even though Utd were ahead until he came onto the pitch) .

Has Solskjaer got the balls to drop two of his so called ‘stars’? He has shown in the past he isn’t afraid to bench Pogba, but Ronaldo is an even bigger ‘personality’. Unless he realises that they can’t play together in the same team, it will ultimately cost him his job.

Atalanta

Since first qualifying for the Champions League in 2019, Atalanta have become regular attendees. They have reached the knockout stages for the past two seasons and they look like repeating the trick in this campaign. They sit top of the group with 4 points from their opening two matches. Gasperini’s side only beat Young Boys 1-0 in their last outing but it was a match they dominated and the scoreline flattered the Swiss side.

The Italians usually play with a 3-4-2-1 formation. Zapata will lead the line and the Colombian marksman has already scored four Serie A goals this season. Malinovskyi is another important attacking player for Atalanta but they’ll have to cope without the injured Robin Gosens on Wednesday night. Joakim Maehle isn’t a bad replacement though and he’ll try to get forward as often as possible.

Atalanta have performed really well on the road in the Champions League group stages in the past couple of seasons. Last year they won at Midtjylland (4-0), Liverpool (2-0) and Ajax (1-0). So, they will have no fear heading to Old Trafford. The Italians have started the season pretty well domestically too. They could make a mockery of their overly generous odds on Wednesday night.

Man Utd vs Atalanta Possible Lineups

Man Utd: De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, McTominay, Rashford, Bruno, Greenwood, Ronaldo.

Atalanta: Musso, Maehle, Djimsiti, Demiral, Palomino, Zappacosta, Freuler, De Roon, Pessina, Malinovskyi, Zapata.

Man Utd vs Atalanta Betting Tip

If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t change tack, this could be another nightmare for him. If he reverts to the ‘McFred’ partnership and drops either Pogba or Ronaldo, it will give Man Utd a much better chance of winning this game. However, if those two workshy ‘superstars’ start against a team with a high energy approach like Atalanta, it could be disastrous. The absence of Varane adds further defensive worries for Utd, especially as Harry Maguire clearly isn’t 100% fit.

I would rather wait for the team news before having a bet on the result of this match. However, at the current prices, Atalanta appeal most. Utd’s last few displays have been dire and they will be low on confidence. Atalanta had an easy win at the weekend and Gasperini was able to rest a couple of key players. At odds of 4.50 it makes sense to back the Italians to win.

Card Happy Ref

We have had success in the to be shown a card market recently and hopefully our good run continues on Wednesday. Joakim Maehle is likely to start with Gosens out injured. He has been booked twice in six starts in Serie A this season. He could be up against Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood on Wednesday and they were Utd’s goalscorers  vs Leicester.

Maehle is excellent going forward but he’ll be tested defensively on Wednesday and referee Szymon Marciniak has shown 19 yellow cards in his last three matches (42 in his last 8). Utd’s main threats will come from out wide on Wednesday so, with such a card happy referee in charge, David Zappacosta could be worth backing to be shown a card also. He picked up a yellow against Young Boys and he’ll be keen to nip any Utd counter attacks in the bud early. So, back Maehle and Zappacosta to be shown a card at odds of 4.50 and 5.50 respectively.

Man Utd vs Atalanta Betting Tips: Atalanta win @ 4.50; Maehle to be shown a card @ 4.50; Zappacosta to be shown a card @ 5.50.

-DaveStevos