Celtic are hoping to enjoy a less scarring European away day on Wednesday evening when they take on Atalanta in the Champions League.

After starting their league phase campaign with a rousing 5-1 victory over novices Slovan Bratislava, Brendan Rodgers’ side were brought back down to earth on Matchday 2 as they conceded seven to Borussia Dortmund in a humiliating defeat. It was one of those nights when everything went in for the home side.

The Scottish champions are once again the favourites to claim domestic success this season but a fresh contender has emerged in the form of Aberdeen, who fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Atalanta faced no such stress in Serie A on Sunday as they eased to a 2-0 victory over the newly promoted Venezia, leaving them sixth in the table. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will be pushing for a top-four berth having qualified for this season’s Champions League by virtue of their Europa League triumph in Dublin.

La Dea started their league phase journey with a goalless draw against Arsenal before casting aside Shakhtar Donetsk away from home on Matchday 2.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s Champions League clash.

Atalanta vs Celtic H2H Record

This is the first competitive fixture between Atalanta and Celtic.

Current form (all competitions)

The hosts are continuing to manage without Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini, both of whom are set to miss most of the 2024/25 season having torn their anterior cruciate ligaments.

Mateo Retegui has filled in ably for Scamacca and the Italy international currently leads the Serie A scoring charts with eight goals in as many games.

Atalanta could also be without defenders Rafael Toloi and Odilon Kossounou for Celtic’s visit, while Marco Brescianini is another doubt due to a hamstring injury.

Atalanta predicted lineup vs Celtic (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Hien, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui.

The visitors are set to once again be without left-back Greg Taylor as he continues to nurse a calf injury, but Alex Valle was excellent at the weekend against Aberdeen and will fill in on Wednesday.

There’s also doubt surrounding Cameron Carter-Vickers, who is dealing with a toe issue, so former Sheffield United centre-back Aaron Trusty could partner Liam Scales at the heart of Celtic’s defence.

Adam Idah is pushing for a start up top, but Rodgers will likely retain Kyogo Furuhashi as his leading man.

Celtic predicted lineup vs Atalanta (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda.

Celtic’s defeat in Dortmund was harsh, with the gulf between the two sides not being worth six goals. Rodgers’ side will be intent on being competitive in Bergamo.

However, Arsenal struggled at Atalanta on Matchday 1 and the unique tactical questions posed by this La Dea team may be too much for a Celtic side that doesn’t appear as imperious as it did before they travelled to Germany a few weeks ago.

While the visitors are unlikely to succumb to a battering, it’s hard to envisage their porous backline taming the dynamic attacking threat of Atalanta.

Prediction: Atalanta 3-1 Celtic

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