Liverpool might have lost on each of their last three visits to Italy in the Champions League, but in many ways, this latest trip is by far the most challenging fixture to predict.
Compared by Jurgen Klopp to Leeds United, who caused Liverpool problems on the opening day of the Premier League season with their intensity and relentless pressing, Atalanta scored 98 league goals last season, but also conceded 48.
Klopp said in his pre-match press conference: "This is the biggest challenge for us so far in the Champions League. Atalanta are special in their approach, slightly similar to Leeds, style and organisation-wise, so it will be a tough one."
Already this season, Atalanta have lost 4-1 to Napoli in Serie A and beaten Lazio by the same scoreline. In all but one of their matches - the 0-4 win over FC Midtjylland in Denmark - both they and their opponents have found the back of the net at least once.
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The only thing seemingly guaranteed in Bergamo is goals.
Joe Donnahue from Scouted Football said on the Behind Enemy Lines podcast: "They are very much the football hipster’s club where fans are very admiring of the way that they are playing at the moment.
"They are very much about attacking, fluid football with lots of verticality and fast transitions, with lots of width. They create overloads in wide areas - numerical superiority - and then from there, the players have a lot of freedom.
"The 3-4-1-2 is innovative and it does catch a lot of teams out. If fans are expecting a typical Italian side, it will be a very different spectacle. Liverpool are up to it, but it will be a test."
Knocked out by Neymar and Kylian Mbappe’s PSG last season, despite the fact they were a goal up in that quarter-final until second-half stoppage time, Atalanta are similar in some ways to Klopp's former team, giving him the perfect idea of what type of side Liverpool will face.
Donnahue added: "There are similarities to the Borussia Dortmund breakthrough [under Klopp in the early 2010s] but the key difference is that this Atalanta side are at the end of their cycle.
"Alejandro Gomez, Josip Ilicic, Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel are all 28, 29 or above. Hans Hateboer is a little bit older than Robin Gosens, but Gulsens is 26.
"They have been building for four or five years under Gian Piero Gasperini and this is the best incarnation of them. But there are similarities in terms of the entertainment and how they capture the imagination for the neutral.
"They could very easily have reached the Champions League final last season, very much like Dortmund did when they were beaten by Bayern Munich in 2013."
Atalanta, clearly, represent a big test. Klopp, though, with his Dortmund background, has an advantage in getting the better of them. Do that and bring the three points back to Merseyside and Liverpool will be well on track to reach the knockout stages with matches to spare.
