Champions League Outright Tip: Atalanta e/w

The time has come to roll the dice and add a second outsider option to our Champions League portfolio. The knockout phase may still be three weeks away, but hang around and we risk seeing Atlanta’s 80/1 with BetVictor vanish into the ether.

That’s because the traditionally unfancied Serie A outfit are making waves and headlines, not least after a magnificent 0-7 away victory at mid-table Torino at the weekend. It’s no flash in the pan either with La Dea the top scorers in Italy by a distance; they have netted 17 goals more than table-topping Juventus.

Atalanta may struggle for consistency, but this extraordinary firepower makes them a contender in any knockout competition on their day.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s boys have already made Champions League history by becoming the first team to progress after losing their first three group games. They’re on the up and momentum could certainly see them past Valencia in the last 16. The Spaniards are also handy on their day, but with the joint-worst defensive record in the top-half of La Liga, they are vulnerable.

If Atalanta pass that test they will be in the quarter-finals and we’ll be only two rounds from a potential payout. Back them each-way and get paid out at half odds if they reach the final.

Encouragingly, for all the money at the top table, outsiders go deep in the Champions League all the time. The Spurs story was very similar in 2018-19 and Ajax, who were seconds away from making the final in their place, had a similarly exciting profile to Atalanta. Before that we saw Roma and Monaco make the semis, so precedent is everywhere you look.