Advertisement

Atalanta vs PSG, Champions League preview: Prediction, team news, TV channel, time, live stream, h2h, odds

REUTERS
REUTERS

Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain will lock horns in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night.

From here on in, the 2019/20 edition of Europe's elite club competition will be concluded in a mini-tournament format - with all ties consisting of one solitary leg rather than two - held across two stadiums in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

The first last-eight match pits impressive underdogs Atalanta against the might of PSG - neither of whom have played a game in the Champions League since March.

Competing in the tournament for the first time this season, Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta - third-place finishers in Serie A earlier this month - were runners-up to Manchester City in Group C before thrashing Valencia 8-4 on aggregate, with Slovenian striker Josip Ilicic scoring four times in the away leg.

Dominant PSG, meanwhile, were awarded their latest Ligue 1 title on a points-per-game basis after coronavirus caused an early halt to the French season in April and later completed another domestic quadruple.

The Parisians did not lose a single game en route to topping Champions League Group A above Real Madrid and reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016 before lockdown with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

Date, time and venue

Atalanta vs PSG is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

The match will be played behind closed doors at the Estadio da Luz with no fans due to be present due to guidelines regarding coronavirus.

How to watch

TV channel: The match will be televised live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, with coverage starting from 7pm.

Live stream: BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.

Team news

A personal issue looks set to rule out Atalanta's top scorer Ilicic, but PSG could have star forward Kylian Mbappe fit to play some part in this quarter-final clash after the Frenchman completed light training work on Saturday and was named in the club's travelling squad for Portugal.

It had initially been feared that Mbappe would miss out on the resumption of the Champions League due to an ankle injury - later revealed to be a heavy sprain - suffered in the French Cup Final win over Saint-Etienne last month.

Atalanta striker Josip Ilicic is set to be absent against PSG for personal reasons (Getty Images)
Atalanta striker Josip Ilicic is set to be absent against PSG for personal reasons (Getty Images)

However, midfielder Marco Verratti is expected to miss out with a calf injury sustained in training, while Thomas Meunier is also sidelined and Angel Di Maria suspended.

Layvin Kurzawa is also believed to be short of fitness and Thomas Tuchel can no longer call on the services of forward Edinson Cavani, who left PSG in June following the expiration of his contract.

Prediction: Atalanta 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Atalanta have deservedly earned widespread plaudits for their fearless approach to the Champions League this season, keeping up that reputation for scoring plenty of goals.

However, this is a notable step up in class for La Dea, who netted a staggering 98 times in Serie A this term.

Mbappe's fitness will continue to be a major talking point, while the likely absence of Ilicic is an enormous blow for the Italians.

PSG to reach their first Champions League semi-final for 25 years.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Wednesday night's match will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.

Betting odds and tips

  • Atalanta to win: Between 12/5 and 5/2

  • Draw after 90 mins: 3/1

  • PSG to win: 6/5

  • Over 2.5 goals: 8/15

Odds courtesy of Betfair Exchange. Click here to find out more.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Evening Standard