Hapoel Tel Aviv – Atalanta Preview – Can the underdogs complete the great escape?
Maurizio Sarri’s first competitive game in charge of Atalanta was meant to be a formality. Instead his new side needed a single-goal margin to get past Hapoel Tel Aviv in Bergamo, Kraev and Raspadori on target either side of a reply from Altman that kept the tie very much alive. Our Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Atalanta betting tips look at a match that is far tighter than the gap between these two clubs on paper.
Stranger still, the second leg is not even being played at either club’s actual home. UEFA has this Conference League play-off decider down for the DVTK Stadium in Miskolc, a neutral ground in Hungary, on Thursday 27 August at 18:00 GMT. Away goals no longer settle these ties, so Hapoel know exactly what is in front of them: win by two clear goals and they reach the Conference League league phase for the first time in the club’s history. Lose, and Atalanta go through instead, with Hapoel’s European season over.
Hapoel didn’t get here by accident. They survived a nervy away leg in Poland to see off GKS Katowice in the previous round, holding on after winning the first meeting at home. That kind of composure under pressure is exactly what a two-goal chase now demands.
Hapoel Tel Aviv – Atalanta Betting Tips
Betting Tip: Both teams to score
Both teams to score is the pick that fits where this tie actually sits. Hapoel have to throw bodies forward from kickoff since there is no other route to the two goals they need, and that leaves space in behind for Atalanta’s front players to run into on the counter. Atalanta have already shown they can be got at this early in Sarri’s reign, and a defence still bedding in is unlikely to keep a full clean sheet against a side with absolutely nothing to lose.
Betting Tip: Double chance: Hapoel Tel Aviv or draw
Double chance: Hapoel Tel Aviv or draw covers the outcome that gets talked about least here. Atalanta’s back line has already leaked once against this exact opponent, and a shaky start under a new coach is precisely the kind of thing a determined underdog with everything to play for can exploit again. Get your bets on early and check the latest match odds on the sportsbook, since a line like this can shift quickly once team news for both sides lands.
Kick-off is set for Thursday evening, and with the tie this close on paper, the smart money treats it as a genuine coin toss rather than a formality for the bigger name.
A neutral ground helps nobody hide
Sarri walked into a club with an obvious quality edge over Hapoel, and most people watching in Bergamo still expected a routine night. What actually happened was a back line still learning his ideas getting caught out once already, and there is no reason to assume that fixes itself in a second competitive fixture. Sarri also has a fitness situation of his own to manage: winger Kamaldeen Sulemana picked up a knee injury in Atalanta’s warm-up friendly against Schalke, one more thing for a new-look squad to work around this early in the season.
The bookmakers still lean toward Atalanta given the squad gap, but not by the kind of margin that makes backing them outright appealing. Hapoel have to come and attack from the first whistle, there’s no other way to a two-goal swing, and a Conference League place that has never belonged to this club before is on the line. Games with that much needed on one side rarely stay tidy. Our preview of the first leg covers how that opener actually played out if you want the fuller picture before kickoff.
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