FC Midtjylland vs Atalanta UEFA Champions League Match Preview or Key Statistics 📊
FC Midtjylland will be facing Italian opposition in European competition for just the second time, having previously lost both group stage games against Napoli in the UEFA Europa League back in 2015/16.
Atalanta last faced Danish opponents back in August 2018, with both of their games against FC Copenhagen finishing 0-0 in the UEFA Europa League qualifying phase -the Italians went on to be eliminated in a penalty shootout (3-4).
FC Midtjylland's heaviest defeat in European competition came in November 2015 against another Italian side in Napoli (0-5 in the UEFA Europa League) -indeed, two of the five occasions in which they've conceded 4+ goals in European action have been against Italian opposition (1-4 and 0-5 versus Napoli in 2015/16).
Atalanta have won each of their last two European away games (both in last season's UEFA Champions League), while they've never previously won three in a row on the road in European competition.
This will be FC Midtjylland's first non-qualifying game in European competition since February 2016, when they lost 1-5 against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League.
Excluding qualifiers, they have only won one of their last six European games (D1 L4). Excluding qualifiers, Atalanta have scored at least once in 16 of their last 17 games in European competition.
Indeed, they netted nine goals in three games in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages last season (an average of three per game). FC Midtjylland have only lost one of their previous four European home games outside of qualifiers (W2 D1), with the most recent being a 2-1 victory against Manchester United back in February 2016.
Atalanta's only defeat in their last six games in European competition came against the eventual UEFA Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain last season (1-2 in the quarter-final) -they were unbeaten in five prior to this, including four wins in a row.
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FC Midtjylland conceded 18 goals in eight games in their last involvement in a major European competition; the most of any team in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League campaign. Excluding qualifying games, Josip llicic has scored nine goals in 13 appearances for Atalanta in European competition -indeed, four of those goals came in his last UEFA Champions League outing in March (versus Valencia at Mestalla).
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