I think Atalanta is starting to realize Europa League could be the pivotal point of the 2021/22 season for them. They are slowly but steadily losing the fight for Champions League 4th place in Serie A to Juventus and in the long run, it feels, they are not going to make it and leapfrog Allegri’s team. Especially now with Juve out of their European campaign and able to fully focus on the domestic front. Atalanta do not have the quality to compete with the “Old Lady” this season and Gasperrinni is being realistic in his work, I think.

The stiff 0-0 draw against relegation zone Genoa at the weekend was another example of how Atalanta’s priorities are set at the moment. They did not push hard enough for 3 points and failure to pick up the win only further threw them off in the standings.

Taking the Europa League, of course, would grant Atalanta the ticket to Europe’s elite competition next year and, in my opinion, this is their number 1 goal now.

In terms of form and gameplay you can’t fault the team much at the moment. They crushed Olympiacos twice, beat Sampdoria in fashion (4-0), took a good 1-1 draw vs. Juve while being the better team. Basically, the only negative result came in the trip to face Fiorentina, where an odd goal decided matters in a level encounter.

In my opinion, Bayer is a comfortable opponent for Gasperrini to face. With their ultra offensive approach and open zones at the back, playing against such teams suits Atalanta style perfectly. In fact, there’s probably not a single team in Serie A whom you’d compare with Bayer. The super entertaining 3-2 win in Italy last week underlined my argument - in an open game with chances at both ends Atalanta took the result through superior experience of their squad. The average age of Bayer lineup tonight, as an example, is 26.0; whereas Atalanta - 28.7.

Visitors have played in the group stage of Champions League and even made it into the knock-out stage earlier. I do believe this factor has a significant weight in tonight’s game.

Furthermore Bayer relies heavily on fitness supremacy and right now they are not in their best condition. Their squad is not deep enough to maintain this 2 games per week rhythm and it starts to backfire on them. Moreover, the injury to key striker Schick is having a big impact on their results. The Czech forward, of course, has been irreplaceable for Bayer with his 20 goals and 3 assists in 20 Bundesliga starts.

I call for Atalanta to progress to the next round with a win or draw in Germany tonight.

本译文使用有道机器，仅供参考：

我认为亚特兰大开始意识到欧罗巴联赛可能是他们2021/22赛季的关键点。在争夺冠军联赛意甲第四名的比赛中，他们正在缓慢但稳步地输给尤文图斯。从长远来看，他们感觉自己不会成功，也不会超越阿莱格里的球队。特别是现在尤文已经退出了欧洲联赛，并且能够完全集中精力在国内战线上。亚特兰大没有这个赛季与“老妇人”竞争的质量和Gasperrinni在他的工作是现实的，我认为。

周末与降级区热那亚的0-0战平，是亚特兰大目前优先考虑的另一个例子。他们没有足够的努力去争取3分，并没有赢得胜利，只是进一步把他们的排名。

当然，拿下欧罗巴联赛，亚特兰大将获得明年欧洲精英赛事的入场券，在我看来，这是他们现在的首要目标。

就形式和游戏玩法而言，目前你不能过多地指责团队。他们两次击败奥林匹亚科斯，在时尚上击败桑普多利亚(4-0)，在与尤文的比赛中1-1战平，成为了一支更好的球队。基本上，唯一的负面结果是在对阵佛罗伦萨的比赛中，一个奇怪的进球决定了比赛的成败。

在我看来，对于Gasperrini来说，拜耳是一个轻松的对手。凭借他们超强的进攻方式和后防线的开放区域，对抗这样的球队非常适合亚特兰大的风格。事实上，在意甲没有一支球队可以和拜耳相提并论。上周在意大利的那场超级有趣的3比2的胜利强调了我的观点——在一场两端都有机会的公开比赛中，亚特兰大凭借他们优秀的阵容获得了胜利。例如，今晚拜耳阵容的平均年龄是26.0岁;而亚特兰大为28.7。

客队曾参加过欧冠小组赛，甚至更早进入淘汰赛阶段。我相信这个因素在今晚的比赛中有很大的分量。

此外，拜耳在很大程度上依赖于健身优势，而目前他们并没有处于最佳状态。他们的阵容深度不足以维持每周2场比赛的节奏，这开始对他们产生反作用。此外，主要前锋希克的受伤对他们的比赛结果产生了很大的影响。当然，这位捷克前锋在20场德甲比赛中攻入20球，助攻3次，在拜耳是不可替代的。

我看好亚特兰大今晚在德国以一场胜利或平局晋级下一轮。