- Home form: Atalanta Bergamo are unbeaten at home in the UEFA Conference League – League Phase 2026-2027 (Won 1 from 1 match and conceded 1 goal).
- Away form: Kairat Almaty have drawn 1 of 1 match as a away team in the UEFA Conference League – League Phase 2026-2027 (scored 1 road goal).
- Standings: Atalanta Bergamo sit 15th in the UEFA Conference League – League Phase 2026-2027 (3 points from 2 matches), Kairat Almaty sit 31st (1 point from 2 matches).
La Dea in the driving seat
Maurizio Sarri has rapidly imprinted his own identity on Atalanta, who will play with high-pressing, wing-back width and vertical play in what should be an entertaining European night at New Balance Arena on Thursday. The home team come into this one off the back of a 2-0 away defeat to Ajax in the UEFA Conference League and a 4-4 draw at home to Frosinone in Serie A, so this could go either way.
In total, La Dea have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five in all competitions, so it's not been a streak of form as much as a rollercoaster ride in the last two weeks.
Kairat can’t match the pace
Kairat have been a more steady, if not spectacular side in recent weeks, winning two, drawing two and losing one of their last five in all competitions. Rafael Urazbakhtin's men play with the ball, they look to control the pace and structure themselves in a compact way, but they've not had the legs to match some of the faster opponents in Europe in their games so far.
Kairat's last two games have seen them lose 1-5 at home to Panathinaikos in the UEFA Conference League before drawing 2-2 as a away team against FK Aktobe in the Premier League, so their momentum is somewhat lacking for this clash.
Sarri’s Atalanta can control the game
Odds and expectations
Atalanta are rightly huge favorites for this game at 1.18, while the draw is 6.4 and Kairat are 1.18? The visitors have the heart of a champion, but this isn't their stage. La Dea can control the tempo here, if they want to, and they have the bite in the front third to make the difference.
Key players
- Nikola Krstovic is their main danger man, as he has scored five of La Dea's nine goals across their last five matches in all competitions.
- Marc Gual has been Kairat's main scoring man, with five of their nine goals coming via him over the last five, but the odds are definitely on the hosts to win here, potentially to nil at 1.7 in the 'Both Teams to Score No' market, as they can keep the Kazakh side at bay.
