Atalanta vs. Young Boys Odds, Pick, Prediction: Expect Dominant Performance From Serie A Outfit (Sept. 29)

Atalanta vs. Young Boys Odds

In a Champions League group with Atalanta, Manchester United and Europa League winner Villarreal, naturally it's Young Boys atop the table through the first matchweek.

The Swiss champions look to maintain that stop with a difficult matchup against Atalanta, one of Europe's most attacking sides over the past few years. Three points would be a massive boost for the Italian side if it wants to return to the Champions League knockout stages.

Let's break down the matchup:

Where Has My Atalanta Gone?

Atalanta have disappointed somewhat in Serie A this season, although the results haven’t been awful.

The Bergamo-based side has 11 points from six games, which puts them in seventh, just one point behind fourth-place Roma. The disappointment isn’t there because of the results, though.

Last season in Serie A, Atalanta averaged more than 2.00 non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) per game. They were the Italian top flight’s foremost entertainers, and bettors’ favorite team to bet an over on.

This year, Atalanta are at 8.35 NPxG through six games. They have registered 3.61 NPxG over their last two games against Sassuolo and Inter, so perhaps there are signs of their attack of old resurfacing.

Even Atalanta’s first Champions League game, which saw them get a 2-2 draw away to Villarreal, was a disappointment on the chance-creation front with just 1.2 xG, per fbref.com.

Atalanta have scored twice in four of their seven games this season, but it’s been mostly because of their quality in front of goal, as well as outside of the box.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side is going to start attacking more eventually if it wants to compete for the Scudetto in Serie A, you would think. We’re just yet to see it.

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Young Boys Eye Second Consecutive Upset

Young Boys are on a roll of late, having won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions (four in the Champions League), including the stunning win over Manchester United.

That game against United was played much differently than many would have expected. The Red Devils’ problem this season has been an inability to take the game to opponents, thus being unable to put a game away. They scored early in Bern against Young Boys through Cristiano Ronaldo, but a first-half red card kept the Swiss side in it.

While it was against 10 men, credit to Young Boys for keeping up the pressure. They eventually benefitted from a late United mistake and won the game in stoppage time.

Last season’s leading scorer Jean-Pierre Nsame appears to be out for this game, as he was against United, which means Jordan Siebatcheu and Christian Fassnacht will likely lead the attack, although it could just be the latter as was the case against United.

Young Boys won’t have the home crowd behind them, and the attitude will no doubt be defensive throughout the game. This will be a good test to see if their knockout-stage aspirations are actually realistic.

Betting Analysis & Pick

You can find a Half Time/Final bet offered at BetMGM tied to which team will be leading at halftime and full time. Atalanta/Atalanta is currently sitting at+105 odds against Young Boys.

In their last two games against Sassuolo and Inter Milan, two quality teams in Serie A, Atalanta have scored twice in the first half. I’ll back them to get on the board early at home against an inferior team, then hold onto the lead for all three points.

Pick: Half Time/Final — Atalanta/Atalanta (+105)