On Wednesday, Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta will battle it out for the Europa League title when they lock horns at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
The German side head into the final as favourites, having avoided defeat across all competitions this season, but the Italians will be hopeful of upsetting the odds.
In this Europa League final preview, we assess all the key stats and trends ahead of Wednesday’s showdown. Read on to discover what our predictive analytics model forecasts.
On Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen completed an unbeaten Bundesliga campaign with a 2-1 victory over Augsburg, lifting the trophy in front of their fans.
Xabi Alonso’s men have now won four of their last five matches across all competitions, with 12 victories coming in their previous 16 outings.
In the Europa League, Leverkusen have won nine and drawn three of their 12 matches this term, booking their place in the final with a 4-2 aggregate win against Roma.
Having scored 31 goals in the Europa League this season – averaging 2.6 goals per game – Alonso’s men will back themselves to secure the silverware on Wednesday.
As for Atalanta, they confirmed Champions League football for next season with a 2-0 victory over Lecce on Saturday, clinching fifth place in Serie A.
Not only have La Dea won four of their last five matches across all competitions, but they have also won seven of their previous nine encounters.
Impressively, Atalanta have lost just one of their 12 Europa League matches this season, picking up seven wins and four draws along the way.
After dispatching Liverpool (3-1) and Marseille (4-1) in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the Italian side will be confident of going all the way in Dublin.
Head-to-head: Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta met twice during the 2021-22 Europa League campaign, with La Dea winning both matches.
After winning the first encounter 3-2, Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1-0. However, a lot has changed since then.
Team news: Bayer Leverkusen have reported no injury problems ahead of the final, meaning key players like Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka should return to the starting XI.
On the flip side, Atalanta look set to be without injured trio Marten de Roon (knee), Emil Holm (calf) and Sead Kolasinac (muscle) for the trip to Ireland.
Although Leverkusen are favoured to lift the trophy on Wednesday, in-form Atalanta are expected to give the German champions a run for their money.
Forebet predicts that Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta will serve up a high-scoring draw inside 90 minutes, meaning extra time and/or penalties will be required to decide the winner.
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