Looking to salvage their Champions League campaign, Real Madrid travel to Italy to face Atalanta, who desperately need a result to stay in the race for a place in the knockout stages.

Los Blancos, the reigning European champions, are currently in the final qualifying spot in the standings, sitting in 24th place with just six points from five games. If they fall any further down the table, they would be in elimination position with very little time to fight their way back up.

To boost their chances, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo will both return to the squad after missing the last few weeks through injury, leaving Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe on an island up front. But Madrid have shown signs of a return to form of late, edging out Girona on their way back into the La Liga title race at the weekend.

Atalanta will pose a much bigger challenge as they sit fifth in the Champions League table and top the Serie A table. The Goddess struggled at the start of the year but have not lost since the end of September and beat AC Milan at the weekend, taking their win streak to nine.

LIVE BLOG: Follow LIVE with minute-by-minute updates and highlights from Atalanta vs Real Madrid

Atalanta vs Real Madrid Prediction, Odds

• Moneyline Lean: Atalanta (+165 on BetMGM)
• Result prediction: Atalanta 2-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid may have had a few big wins recently, but they still need to prove that they can play alongside Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo up front. Mbappe in particular struggled with having to share the spotlight with his new teammates.

Atalanta, on the other hand, was extremely spectacular in almost every phase of the game. Ademola Lookman continues to deliver great performances, including his 87th-minute winner against AC Milan at the weekend, which gave Atalanta a deserved home win against quality opposition.

Unless Real Madrid finds a magical solution quickly, Atalanta are simply the better team at this point.

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	BetMGM (USA)
Atalanta victory	+165
Pull	+250
Real Madrid wins	+155
Both teams score	Y: -200 N: +140
Over/Under 2.5 goals	O: -165 U: +120
real Madrid -0.5 goals	+140
Atalanta +0.5 goals	-200

Facts about the game Atalanta vs. Real Madrid

• Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
• Kick-off time: 9:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT)
• Location: Gewiss Stadium (Bergamo, Italy)
• Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)
• Last meeting: Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta (August 14, 2024 | UEFA Super Cup)

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Atalanta vs Real Madrid best bet

• Choose: Atalanta over 1.5 goals
• Opportunities: +105 (BetMGM)

The Atalanta attack has been a sleeping giant all year and it is starting to wake up. You scored two or more goals all nine games in their current winning streak, and they scored 2.38 xG on 22 shots the last time they were shut out, against Celtic in a 0-0 draw at the end of October.

When these two teams last met in the Super Cup earlier this year, they managed just seven shots and one big chance, but Real Madrid’s problems had not yet begun. Los Blancos have created more chances than usual in recent months and have not managed to weather waves of opponents as well as they usually do.

If Madrid want to get a result here they will probably have to outperform Atalanta or get lucky because their opponents miss good chances. Given Ademola Lookman’s form and propensity to take chances, that is unlikely.

Atalanta vs Real Madrid Prop Bet

• Choose: Ademola Lookman is a goalscorer at all times
• Opportunities: +175 (BetMGM)

While Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have performed better than the sum of their parts in recent months, the two players who have sparked Atalanta’s attack are Ademola Lookman and Charles de Ketelaere.

Lookman has scored six goals in his last six Serie A games, including three between them against major opponents Napoli and AC Milan. He has scored two goals in his last three European games and it is clear that he is on the right track.

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Meanwhile, De Ketelaere has begun the hard work of reviving his slow start to life in Serie A, with excellent performances over the last two months, ranking in the 99th percentile of Serie A attacking midfielders in both progressive passing and shooting Passes into the final third and in the 89th percentile for goal-creating actions (0.67 per 90 minutes, which is exceptional). These numbers are just as good in the Champions League and he will be crucial in any upset that is pulled off here.