The European Crown will be up for grabs in Dublin on Wednesday night, as the unstoppable Bayer Leverkusen take on Atalanta.
Bayer Leverkusen have the golden opportunity to secure a “treble” this season having been crowned the Bundesliga Champions, and the DFB Pokal and Europa League still up for grabs. Xabi Alonso`s outfit finished the season with a 2-1 win over Augsburg, completing the 34-game ‘invincible’ run in the Bundesliga, and ending Bayern Munich`s domestic dominance. They have also completed their league in style – having scored a whopping 135 goals and conceding just 39. For the first time since the 1988 UEFA Cup, the Werkself have the opportunity to secure their second European trophy in the club`s history. Although they were tested by Qarabag in the Round of 16, they got past West Ham and AS Roma in the following knock-out stages, proving their superiority not only in the league but also on the continental front. Overall, Bayer Leverkusen have been in hot, unstoppable form, and it is hard to see them throw their form out in this game.
With no trophy to show for this season, Atalanta had the Coppa Italia ripped out of their hands by Juventus in a 1-0 defeat in the final. They go into the game on the back of a 2-0 victory over Lecce, with 2 games in the 2023/2024 Serie A season to go. Before the Bergamo outfit return to domestic action, they have the chance to become the first Serie A side to win the Europa League. They go into the final with a solid defensive form – having faced just 2.8 shots on target per game in the Europa League so far and put on a breath-taking display dispatching Sporting in the Round of 16, dominating Liverpool in the quarter-finals, and crushing OM in the semi-finals. The last time the 2 sides met was in the Round of 16 in the Europa League in 2022, where Atalanta secured a 4-2 victory over the German outfit. However, we have a completely different Bayer side this season. Overall, considering Europa League forms, the 2 sides look even on paper with both sides free-flowing in attack and fairly solid in defence. We are expecting a tactical display from the 2 sides, but Bayer Leverkusen`s ability to deny any chances of defeat has been prevailing this season. Therefore, we anticipate under 2.5 goals, and Bayer Leverkusen to win.