Liverpool will need to come back from 3-0 down to stay in the Europa League when they travel to Italy on Thursday, live on talkSPORT.
The Reds completely capitulated in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, being thumped at Anfield to leave them with a mountain to climb.
Jurgen Klopp’s side then followed that result up with another shock home defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend.
They are seemingly now in disarray, but completing a historic European comeback would be the perfect way to turn things around.
Atalanta vs Liverpool: A nightmare week
Klopp’s final Liverpool farewell wasn’t meant to go like this…
It seemed his side were on their way to a Premier League and Europa League double, with the Reds dominating both competitions.
However, the last week has done some major damage to their trophy chances.
The German said he ‘had nothing positive to say’ after the first leg loss and it’s likely his thoughts were the same following the Palace defeat.
To stay in Europe, Liverpool must make history to become the first-ever team in the competition to overturn a three-goal deficit in the second leg.
So that leaves them in desperate need of a miracle to put an end to what has been a nightmare week for the club.
- Atalanta’s only home win against English opposition was against Everton in September 2017 (3-0), while their only such defeat came at the hands of Liverpool in November 2020 (0-5). They’ve drawn their other two home games against English sides.
- Atalanta are looking to win both legs of a two-legged knockout tie in the UEFA Europa League for the first time since the 2021-22 last 16 against Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, Liverpool could lost both legs of a two-legged UEFA Cup/Europa League knockout tie for the first time since the 1998-99 last 16 v Celta de Vigo.
Atalanta vs Liverpool: Team news
Martin de Roon will return for Atalanta after he missed his side’s Serie A clash at the weekend due to suspension.
However, Georgio Scalvini and former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac are both expected to miss out with injuries.
As for Liverpool, Conor Bradley picked up a knock against Crystal Palace last time out.
He could miss out but the Reds will be boosted by the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alisson, Diogo Jota and Stefan Bajcetic are all also back while Joel Matip, Ben Doak and Thiago remain sidelined.
- Atalanta have only lost one of their 16 home games in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (W10 D5), going down 0-2 to RB Leipzig in the 2021-22 quarter-final second leg.
- Liverpool have won three of their last four away games against Italian sides in all competitions (L1), as many as in their first 14 such visits (D3 L8). However, their last visit ended in a 4-1 defeat to Napoli in September 2022.
Atalanta vs Liverpool: What has been said?
Klopp has called for a reaction from his side after the heavy first-leg defeat and the loss to Crystal Palace that followed.
Speaking on Sunday, he said: “The answer is pretty easy. If we play like we did in the first half, how should we win the league?
“If we play like we did in the second half, we can win football games.
“If we can win football games, we will see how many we can win and then we want to be around when the other guys struggle, if they struggle.
“We have to win games anyway. We now have a string of four away games. That would have been tough anyway and it will be tough. We have to deal with that.
“The criticism in these moments is completely fine, it is absolutely right. It is all about how we deal with it.”
- Liverpool won their last European away game 5-1 at Sparta Prague; the Reds haven’t won back-to-back away outings in the UEFA Cup/Europa League since 2002-03 when they beat Vitesse and Auxerre in succession.
- Gianluca Scamacca has scored in each of his last four UEFA Europa League appearances, including a brace in the first leg against Liverpool. Indeed, this is the longest ever scoring run by an Atalanta player in major European competitions.
Atalanta vs Liverpool: talkSPORT coverage
This Europa League quarter-final second leg will take place on Thursday, April 18.
Kick-off at the Gewiss Stadium is scheduled for 8pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Hugh Woozencroft.
Commentary will come from Joe Shennan and former England striker Dean Ashton.