The Europa League Final takes centre stage on Wednesday evening as undefeated Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen take on Coppa Italia runners-up Atalanta in Dublin.
Leverkusen’s remarkable season has put them on course for an unprecedented treble and a 2-2 draw in their semi-final second leg with Roma not only secured their place in the final, but also preserved their undefeated campaign.
Atalanta have taken impressive scalps en route to the centrepiece show in Dublin, beating the likes of Liga Portugal champions Sporting Lisbon and Premier League giants Liverpool in the knockout stages, while La Dea were dominant in their 4-1 aggregate victory over Marseille in the semis.
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Leverkusen on the cusp of history
A 2-1 victory over Augsburg on the final day saw Bayer Leverkusen lift their maiden Bundesliga title in style and Die Werkself are now just two games away from completing an unprecedented unbeaten treble.
With one eye on their DFB-Pokal final meeting with second-tier Kaiserslautern on Saturday, Leverkusen’s first task sees them look for continental gold against an Atalanta side who beat them home and away in this competition back in 2022.
Many of the players involved in these meetings remain at their respective clubs and there is no doubt that La Dea are the trickiest test remaining in their bid to become the first side ever to complete an unbeaten continental treble.
Leverkusen’s impressive performances have been emphasised by the fact that no one player is doing the heavy lifting in the goals department.
Victor Boniface led the scoring for the Bundesliga champions in the league, but a tally of just 14 goals placed him just eighth on the overall goals table.
No less than 16 players got their names on the scoresheet domestically for Leverkusen, while 12 players have found the net in the Europa League this season, showing how deadly Xabi Alonso’s side can be from all areas of the field and this could steer the German side to victory on Wednesday.
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Europa League Final team news
Alonso will likely have a fully fit and available squad to choose from for Leverkusen’s first European cup final since 2002, which might offer the Spaniard a few selection headaches.
Both Boniface and Patrik Schick have scored five goals each in the Europa League this season and, with Alonso usually favouring a sole starting striker, it is likely that one of two will have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini has a number of defensive injury issues to contend with after Emil Holm and Sead Kolasinac were joined in the treatment room by Marten De Roon, who misses the final with a knee injury.
However, there is some good news with the return of Rafael Toloi to the backline after he recovered from a calf problem, while key creative midfielder Teun Koopmeiners should also return to the starting line-up after missing the 2-0 win at Lecce through suspension.
Europa League Final Predicted line-ups:
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Musso; Toloi, Hien, Djimsiti; Zappacosta, Koopmeiners, Ederson, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere; Scamacca, Lookman
Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Kossounou; Grimaldo, Xhaka, Andrich, Frimpong; Adil, Wirtz; Boniface