I think maybe Atalanta is better when compared to Sparta Prague but still they are not better than Liverpool. After knowing Liverpool's very strong performance when against Sparta Prague, Atalanta they definitely started to prepare a defensive strategy so that Liverpool could not attack Atalanta brutally like they did to Sparta. Prague, but playing a defensive strategy alone is not enough if Atalanta does not have the strength to attack and provide fierce resistance to the Liverpool players to be able to break through the Liverpool defense.
Indeed, this is quite a tough obstacle that Atalanta has to overcome in the quarter-finals because their opponent is a big Premier League club and their current condition is very good so Atalanta's chances of winning are very unlikely because Liverpool will not let their opponent get away easily and Liverpool wants to present very fierce competition in all the competitions it plays.
Yes, Liverpool's current performance in the Premier League is almost on par with Manchester City, therefore many people are Liverpool favorite for in the European League. Just as they are Manchester City favorite for in the Champions League because both of them have a strong performance in this big competition to be able to win the title and if both of them win titles in these two big competitions. The Premier League is a very strong club this season and also makes the name of the English league proud.
I would guess that they are doing the best they possibly could, and that usually results with them doing as well as they possibly could. I think europa "should" be easy for them and definitely looks like it is something that will make it better for them, that is the thing about the situation they are in right now.
I know that it doesn't feel like something major, but they should really care about it. I know that people will look at this and think that they are going to end up with the win but there is also a very likely chance that they will just not care about it and play not the best players and end up losing because of it as well. Lets see how it will end , I hope they bring their 100% and get the win they deserve.
Atalanta have done their best so that they can be in the quarter-finals but playing against Liverpool is not an easy thing for them so they are not favorites but besides that when a team is without the burden of not being favorites it can actually create a surprise.
Atalanta's performance in Serie A this season is not very good, but what they did in the Europa League was beyond many people's predictions and we should wait to see whether Atalanta can continue this trend when they face Liverpool later, even though it is difficult, the possibility is still there.
There is nothing more that can be expected from Atalanta at this time, while Atalanta's performance has started to decline after appearing several times in Serie A matches without getting positive results, while Liverpool is currently in a very strong condition without having to use much strategy, I think Klopp is still very ready to continue the positive trend at UEL this season.