Only two weeks on from the chaotic encounter at Old Trafford, United have made the trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta once more - this time on Italian turf. A woeful first half showing saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men two goals behind at the break a fortnight ago, though a perfect response in the second period saw a trademark turnaround.
As a result of the comeback victory against Gian Piero Gasperini's side at the Theatre of Dreams, United top Group F heading into the fourth matchday in the Champions League. It's fine margins in the group, with Atalanta down in third but level with Villarreal only two points adrift of the top spot. Moreover, Young Boys are only a single three points behind United. Such is the competitiveness within the group, Solskjaer's side actually found themselves bottom of the live standings when trailing at halftime last time out.
Since the encounter the other week, Atalanta have drawn to both Udinese and Lazio at home, with an away victory against Sampdoria sandwiched in between. With five points picked up in that period, United's opposition have climbed to fifth place in Serie A.
Jose Palomino suffered a thigh injury against Sampdoria, missing the most recent match against Lazio at the weekend. Atalanta are also set to be without Rafael Toloi, Berat Djimsiti, Matteo Pessina, Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer. Similar to the 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, there are still some shortages at the back - both centrally and in the wingback department.
The United travelling group was revealed on Monday afternoon, with Victor Lindelof missing out having suffered a knock in training. More positively, Amad is finally back within the matchday squad. Paul Pogba is eligible in Europe amidst his three-match domestic suspension.
David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Tom Heaton; Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Eric Bailly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles; Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Fred, Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek, Bruno Fernandes, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard; Jadon Sancho, Amad, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lindelof’s absence from the squad through injury sparks real intrigue into Solskjaer’s team selection, on top of the already existent anticipation. Many expected that he’d name pretty much the same side that beat Spurs, but without the Swede his back line will have to look different. There are a couple of options if he still wishes to deploy the same system. Until Varane’s return to fitness, it was actually planned that Luke Shaw would operate the left centre back role with Telles at left wingback against Spurs - that is certainly an option against Atalanta. Otherwise, the somewhat out of favour Eric Bailly could slot into the defence if he’s trusted to do so by the manager. You could also see Solskjaer revert to a back four, though, given how easily Atalanta were exploited in the second half two weeks ago.
“I cannot give you the game-plan or the tactics but we have a squad to play many different ways. You can put any tactics out or system out, it was the players within it and how they executed the roles that was the difference on Saturday.”
Solskjaer wasn't giving anything away as to his system, but the success at the weekend certainly offers encouragement for what's to come.
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