Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta have met twice before in major European action, with the German side winning 4-3 on aggregate during a UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie in February 2018.

Atalanta have won each of their last three major European games against German sides without conceding in the process, already beating Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 and 3-0 respectively in the UEFA Champions League this season.