Atalanta vs Liverpool preview, team news, kick-off
Joel Matip could return to Liverpool defence; Diogo Jota pushing for start; follow with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms and on Gillette Soccer Special live on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League
Tuesday 3 November 2020 21:09, UK
Team news and stats ahead of Atalanta vs Liverpool in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm.
Team news
Liverpool could welcome Joel Matip back into their defence against Atalanta.
Matip has missed the club's last four games through injury but has trained ahead of the Group D clash. His return would be a major boost to Jurgen Klopp, who has turned to Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips with Virgil van Dijk and back-up Fabinho missing, though Phillips earned rave reviews from his manager for his performance against West Ham.
Naby Keita has also returned to the squad having been out for five games, although fellow midfielder Thiago Alcantara remains doubtful.
Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri have both provided important interventions in the last couple of weeks and are pushing to be involved.
Summer signing Jota is challenging for Roberto Firmino's starting berth after three goals in as many games, two of which were winners and the other the important breakthrough against a determined Midtjylland side last week at Anfield.
Shaqiri, who managed just 265 minutes of football last season because of injuries and appeared to be destined for a summer exit, has also re-emerged as a valuable option for Klopp.
"Shaq can play the wing, he has everything for that, but he is a versatile, offensive player and he played for us as an eight, wing and no 10," said Klopp.
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"Yes he was not involved (last season)... it is not like we wanted to keep him out of the team but sometimes players have a bad run with injuries. He is a really good player and made a massive impact in pretty much all of the games he has played so we are just happy to have him back."
Atalanta will be without Rafael Toloi, Cristian Romero and Hans Hateboer.
Atalanta at a glance
The coach: After a brief spell as Inter Milan boss in 2011, Gian Piero Gasperini managed Palermo and then Genoa before becoming Atalanta coach in 2016. He subsequently guided them into the Champions League in 2019 with a third-placed Serie A finish and their debut campaign saw them reach the last 16.
European pedigree: The Italian club reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals in 1987-88 and the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1990-91. That was their last continental campaign until they played in the Europa League in 2017-18, before making their Champions League bow two years later.
Form: Gasperini's men opened their Group D matches with a 4-0 thrashing of Midtjylland in Denmark before drawing 2-2 at home against Ajax, which leaves them second in the group. They are fourth in Serie A after four wins and two losses.
How to follow
Follow Atalanta vs Liverpool with our dedicated live blog across Sky Sports' digital platforms and on Gillette Soccer Special, live on Sky Sport News and Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm.
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Opta stats
- This is Liverpool's first-ever encounter with Atalanta in any competition.
- Atalanta are set to face their third different English opponent, having previously met Everton in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League (P2 W2) and Manchester City in the Champions League last season (P2 D1 L1).
- Liverpool have lost all three of their away UEFA Champions League matches in Italy under manager Jürgen Klopp, losing to Roma in May 2018 and Napoli in October 2018 and September 2019.
- Since losing their first three group stage games in the UEFA Champions League last season, Atalanta have gone unbeaten in their last five group stage games in the competition (W3 D2), including both this season (W1 D1).
- Liverpool have won each of their last three away games in the UEFA Champions League group stage, after losing four in a row before this between October 2018 and September 2019 (all under Jürgen Klopp).
- Excluding qualifiers, Atalanta have only failed to score in one of their last 19 games in major European competition (0-4 v Dinamo Zagreb last season), while they've averaged 2.1 goals per game over the course of this run (40 goals in total).
- Jürgen Klopp has lost all five of his away UEFA Champions League matches in Italy, losing to Napoli (3), Juventus and Roma. Only Alex Ferguson (6) has lost more away Champions League games in Italy than Klopp, while only Luciano Spalletti in England (6/6) has managed more away games in a country while losing every match than Klopp in Italy.
- Duvan Zapata has been directly involved in six goals in five UEFA Champions League starts for Atalanta (four goals and two assists), while he scored a brace in their 2-2 draw against Ajax on MD2.
- Since leaving Basel in January 2014, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has played more minutes against Atalanta in all competitions without scoring than any other club (263), with his four games against them coming during his spells at Fiorentina and Roma.
- Diogo Jota scored on his first UEFA Champions League start for Liverpool in their last game (4-0 v FC Midtjylland), while he could become only the second player to score in his first two starts in the competition for the Reds, following Robbie Keane back in 2008.
