Key events
Neither side fielded their strongest starting XIs at the weekend, so letâs not waste time counting changes, lifeâs too short. Instead, letâs simply celebrate the star names returning to the line-ups. For Atalanta, Ademola Lookman, formerly of Charlton, Everton, Fulham and Leicester, comes back to supply the bullets for Gianluca Scamacca to fire; the young Belgian winger Charles de Ketelaere completes their attacking trio. As for Leverkusen, Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka and Josip StaniÅ¡iÄ return, MatÄj KováŠtakes his usual place between the sticks in Europe, but Victor Boniface drops to the bench despite being the clubâs leading scorer this season with 21 goals, Xabi Alonso handling the strikerâs return from a groin injury carefully. Not a bad option to throw on later.
The teams
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio: Musso, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, Ederson Silva, Koopmeiners, Ruggeri, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Scamacca.
Subs: Toloi, Holm, Pasalic, Toure, de Roon, Bakker, Adopo, Carnesecchi, Rossi, Hateboer, Scalvini, Miranchuk.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Kovar, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie, Stanisic, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo, Frimpong, Wirtz, Adli.
Subs: Hradecky, Kossounou, Hofmann, Andrich, Iglesias, Arthur, Schick, Tella, Boniface, Hlozek, Puerta, Lomb.
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania).
Kit and caboodle. Atalanta are the designated âhomeâ team tonight, so get to wear their black and blue stripes. Berat Djimsiti, standing in as captain ahead of Rafael Tolói, who has long lost his place, and the injured vice-captain Marten De Roon, will hand over a plush if busy pennant. Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah, dressed in second-choice white and red, will give a neat looking red-and-yellow flag in return. Squint and youâll spot it.
Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen have met before. Their only meetings came in the round of 16 in the 2021-22 edition of this competition. Atalanta won the first leg 3-2 at home, Luis Muriel their two-goal hero. The tie remained very much in the balance during the second leg in Leverkusen, until Jeremie Boga wrapped things up in the last minute, securing a 1-0 win on the night for Atalanta and a 4-2 aggregate victory. So while the Black and Reds are favourites tonight, the Black and Blues have recent history on their side.
Preamble
Welcome to our coverage of Jurgen Kloppâs valedictory ⦠ah no, it wasnât meant to be. West Ham United, Rangers and Brighton & Hove Albionâs dreams went up in smoke, too, along with those of some big names in European football: Milan, Benfica, Roma, Marseille, Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal, Ajax. All gone, and yet weâre still left with a mouthwatering denouement: Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen, one of Europeâs most progressive sides contesting their first-ever European final, versus the newly crowned champions of Germany, a team who this season have forgotten how to lose.
Both are deserving finalists. Atalanta knocked out the new champions of Portugal, Sporting Lisbon, then steamrollered tournament favourites Liverpool. Leverkusen meanwhile performed absurd last-minute unbeaten-run-salvaging wonders again and again and again, against Qarabag, West Ham and Roma. Itâs been a blast on both sides of the draw, and thereâs no reason why tonightâs Dublin showpiece will be any different. So strap yourself in, grab the popcorn, treat yourself to a large pour, sit back and enjoy. Kick-off is at 8pm BST and weâll go to extra time and penalties if absolutely necessary. Itâs on!
