The encounter between Stuttgart and Atalanta is set to draw the attention of neutral fans eager for attacking football. Both the German and Italian sides have been providing entertaining performances this season; they may not always achieve their objectives, but they are consistently committed to open play.
In their away fixture against Juventus (1:0), Stuttgart clinched their first Champions League victory, though the scoreline could have been more significant. Apart from Enzo Millot missing a penalty, the referees, after a VAR review, disallowed Deniz Undav's goal, while their xG advantage was substantial (2.52 vs 0.25). Over the past week and a half, the team secured lively wins against Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga and Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal (both 2:1), highlighting their creativity and their willingness to allow opponents chances.
In their opening November match, Atalanta thrashed Serie A leaders Napoli (3:0), closing in on the top spot in the league. This victory marked their sixth win in seven matches since the start of October. Despite a goalless draw against Celtic (0:0), they were strong in the attacking phase, generating 2.38 xG from 22 shots. Generally, Atalanta are experiencing fewer setbacks in the opposition's half, and we can expect goals from them.
It is quite possible that Stuttgart and Atalanta will hit over 2.5 goals in the first half alone. These two attacking teams are unlikely to sit back in defence and will push forward in search of points.
