Serie A side Atlanta come into the game flying in Europe, taking on down-hearted Athletic Club on Matchday seven of the Champions League.

For UK viewers, the match kicks off at 8 pm, live on TNT Sports 8. 

Marco Carnesecchi, Odilon Kossounou, Isak Hien, Sead Kolasinac, Lorenzo Bernasconi, Ederson, Marten De Roon, Davide Zappacosta, Charles De Ketelaere, Nicola Zalewski, Gianluca Scamacca. 

The Italian side will play in a 3-4-2-1 formation. 

Unai Simon, Jesus Areso, Aitor Paredes, Dani Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Mikel Jauregizar, Alex Berenguer, Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams, Nicolas Serrano.

The Spanish side will likely play a 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Atalanta take on Bilbao with a relatively healthy squad; only Berat Djimsiti (hip) and Raoul Bellanova (hamstring) are missing.

Ademola Lookman could feature in a small capacity this evening after returning from AFCON. 

It’s a different story for Athletic Club, who have five players set to miss out on the pivotal fixture. 

Aymeric Laporte, Benat Prados, Mikel Vesga, Maroan Sannadi, and Nico Serrano are all sidelined. 

Bilbao’s squad is stretched, and it’s shown in their results.

Serie A side Atalanta head into the game off the back of four games without defeat, beating Roma, Bologna, and Torino. 

Last time out, they failed to close the gap to the top six after drawing 1-1 with relegation-threatened Pisa. 

The Champions League spots in Italy are edging further away, making a run in Europe imperative this year.

Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino explained, “We have a great opportunity to do well.”

Since losing 4-0 to PSG in the opening fixture, Atalanta has gone unbeaten, moving them into the top eight. 

They beat Club Brugge 2-1 on matchday two before convincing away wins against Marseille and Frankfurt. 

In their last Champions League fixture, they defeated Chelsea 2-1 thanks to two second-half goals. 

A win tonight would move them up to fourth on 16 points, four points ahead of Inter in ninth. 

Palladino added, “We’ve had six victories since the Chelsea game, and that shows that the team is growing game after game.”

As for Athletic Club, their European journey this season hasn’t been so impressive, with the club sitting 32nd on five points. 

There is still hope for Ernesto Valverde’s men to reach the playoffs, but recent results in Europe haven’t been so good. 

In the last three, Bilbao has lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund, 2-0 to Newcastle United, and drawn 0-0 with Slavia Prague. 

The prospect of Champions League qualification has become more daunting because of their recent domestic form. 

In the last eight games, Valverde’s team hasn’t won one game in 90 minutes. 

Bilbao’s Ruiz de Galarreta admitted, “Every match between now and the end of the season will be decisive.”

The last five have seen them lose three and win one, shipping five goals to Barcelona and three goals to Mallorca. 

“We must win here, or at least pick up points, if we want to stay in the Champions League.”

They currently sit 10th in La Liga on 24 points and 17 points behind Atletico Madrid in the final Champions League spot.

It’s going to be an uphill task to defeat an Atalanta team firing on all cylinders in Europe.

“When things don't go your way, you always have the opportunity to train harder, fix things, and turn it around.”