It is at the recently upgraded Stadio di Bergamo that Chelsea's Champions League journey continues with a clash against Atalanta. It has proved a quick turnaround for both sides, who were both on away league business on Saturday.

The Blues faced Bournemouth and were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw on the south coast. Meanwhile, in Serie A, Atalanta suffered a 3-1 defeat against previously winless Hellas Verona, who began the weekend bottom of the table.

Chelsea have never previously faced Atalanta, a scenario that will be repeated on matchday seven when Pafos visit Stamford Bridge. The Bergamaschi will be the 103rd different club to face the Blues across all European competitions since 1958.

Chelsea and Atalanta are matched on results and points in the league phase this season, but the Londoners have a superior goal difference and sit seventh in the standings.

Hosts La Dea, the Goddess, were impressive 3-0 winners at Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago, despite their domestic form faltering and stand tenth in the league phase table. Teams finishing ninth to 24th face two play-off matches in January/February.

After battering Barcelona at the Bridge on matchday five, the world champions are aiming to take another three points to help seal a top-eight finish that will deliver direct qualification for the Round of 16.

The Blues have won 17 of our previous 27 matches in the group/league stage of UEFA’s marquee competition, and tonight's game will be our 100th away match in the Champions League proper.

So far we have won 41, drawn 26, lost 32, scored 147 and conceded 108.

The history

We have never previously faced Atalanta, but tonight's game will be our 30th clash with an Italian club in Europe.

The first meetings came against Roma, outside of UEFA's jurisdiction, in the 1965/66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A turbulent opening leg was played in west London, later dubbed the 'Battle of the Bridge', and saw both sides have a player dismissed before the Blues ran out 4-1 winners.

Repercussions in Rome were harsh. We progressed on aggregate following a 0-0 stalemate, but the players were pelted with missiles during the game and the windows of the Chelsea coaches were smashed on the way to the airport.

The same campaign brought three quarter-final games against AC Milan. The Rossoneri claimed a 2-1 victory at San Siro and the Blues won by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge. That forced a replay back in Milan, which ended 1-1.

It meant progression to the semi-finals would be decided via a coin toss. Skipper Ron Harris did not like the look of the German eagle on the referee’s coin and correctly chose heads. The Blues advanced to face eventual winners Barcelona in the semi-finals.

Fast forward more than 30 years and many consider our first-ever Champions League trip to AC Milan as a coming-of-age moment.

Coached by Cremona-born Gianluca Vialli and featuring players who had graced Serie A in Marcel Desailly, Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola, the Londoners were a team on the up.

A fascinating tactical battle looked likely to end goalless until Oliver Bierhoff found a way past Ed de Goey with 15 to go.

However, the Blues stepped things up and a wonderful clipped pass from Di Matteo split the hosts' defence and Dennis Wise struck a famous goal to ensure the game ended 1-1.

Five winless visits to Italy followed before we went to Lazio in the group stage of the 2003/04 campaign. It was third time lucky in the Eternal City as Hernan Crespo, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Damien Duff and Frank Lampard racked up an emphatic 4-0 victory.

That remained our sole success in Il Bel Paese until the Blues beat AC Milan 2-0 back at San Siro in 2022.

Cobham graduate Fikayo Tomori was dismissed inside 15 minutes and two of the most experienced players in Graham Potter’s side, Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, quickly established a lead that proved unassailable.

Champions League regulations

Each of the 36 participating clubs plays eight different opponents in the initial league phase – and their standings appear on a single table.

Teams finishing in the top eight qualify directly for the round of 16, while eight of those in ninth to 24th place can join them via two-legged play-off games in February. Those placed 25th or lower exit the competition.

Last season, 16 points sufficed for Aston Villa to finish eighth, while Club Bruges qualified for the play-offs in 24th place with 11.

Teams tied in the table on points are separated by goal difference, then goals scored, away goals, number of wins, away wins and, finally, alphabetical order.

Players and club officials are suspended for the next match after accumulating three cautions that did not result in a red card. All yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals.

Skipper Marten de Roon and Yunus Musah will miss Atalanta’s next Champions League game if cautioned this evening. Chelsea’s Andrey Santos is walking the same tightrope.

Know this…

Last time out in this competition, Chelsea became the first English club to record five Champions League victories over Barcelona with a 3-0 success at the Bridge – our biggest ever winning margin against the Blaugrana.

Estevao Willian is Chelsea’s leading scorer in this season's Champions League with three goals scored (against Ajax, Qarabag and Barcelona).

The Brazil star (18 years and 215 days) is only the third teenager to have netted in each of his first three Champions League starts – after Kylian Mbappe (18 years, 113 days) and Erling Haaland (19 years, 107 days).

The Blues have scored in each of the last 20 European games.

Atalanta are unbeaten in this competition since a 4-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one. They have not conceded in their last three outings.

The Bergamaschi have never defeated English visitors in the Champions League, although Everton lost 3-0 there in the 2017/18 Europa League group stage.

Our Italian league phase opponents, Atalanta and Napoli, met in Serie A last month. The Neapolitans, managed by Antonio Conte, came away as 3-1 winners.

This is Chelsea’s 20th Champions League campaign and we have reached the knockout stage in each of our past eight.

Twenty-two years ago, on 9 December 2003, the second half of Chelsea’s 2-0 Champions League victory was delayed as Besiktas fans threw toilet rolls onto the pitch in protest at UEFA moving the match to Schalke’s stadium in Germany.