Atalanta take on the visitors Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of UEFA Champions League round of 1/16-finals. First leg result: 0-2. The match will be played on Wednesday, February 25th at New Balance Arena (Bergamo).
Atalanta have found themselves in a fairly typical situation, noticeably declining after the departure of their long-time successful manager, Gasperini. Perhaps the negative effect would have been smaller had they opted for Palladino already in the summer. Instead, they chose to appoint Juric and, in essence, lost a couple of months. The new reshuffle helped, and for example in the Coppa Italia, after a 3–0 demolition of Juventus, they managed to reach the semifinals. However, in Serie A too much was dropped in the opening months of the season under the Croatian. In the Champions League, on the contrary, they secured a playoff spot ahead of schedule, winning four times before the end of 2025 — which even allowed the Italians to take it easy in January, losing to Athletic Bilbao and Union Berlin. Recently, Atalanta have shown more stability at home, where their results have noticeably improved compared to the autumn period. Still, inconsistency against direct rivals continues to prevent them from climbing higher domestically.
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Borussia Dortmund can focus on the current tournament. The Black and Yellows also struggled last season and likewise improved sharply after a coaching change — Kovac even managed to push Mainz 05 out of the Bundesliga top four. As a result, the Germans returned to the Champions League. On the domestic stage, they have fairly confidently secured second position, although they exited the cup early. Therefore, they can shift their focus to the European arena. In the main round, the matches were spectacular, full of goals and mostly successful — until late autumn (three wins in five games with one defeat). During the winter, after slightly relaxing, the team allowed more slip-ups. Nevertheless, they progressed to the playoffs without major trouble. Hosting the visitors from Bergamo in Germany, they managed to score twice already in the first half, and after the break they preserved that comfortable advantage. Dortmund’s recent home form has been convincing, especially in European competition. Their attacking approach often forces opponents to adapt rather than dictate the tempo themselves.
In February 2018, in the Europa League, the Germans won 3–2 at home and then drew the away match in Italy. It is unlikely that the Italians truly believe in a comeback — so is it worth expending too much energy here? We back Borussia Dortmund to avoid defeat in this match.
Prediction for the match: Borussia Dortmund not to lose (X2).
