Inter – Benfica : Preview & Prediction
With a comfortable two-goal aggregate lead ahead of this UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinal second leg, Inter Milan have one foot in the semifinals of Europe’s premier club competition. However, a surprising 1-0 loss at home to Monza at the weekend showed that Inter can be vulnerable at the San Siro, so they will have to be on guard to thwart Benfica’s advances to secure their first UCL semifinal berth since 2010.
Considering that Inter have won 17 of the last 18 European ties in which they won the away first leg, they appear to be in a good position to advance out of this quarterfinal round. In fact, you would have to go back to 2011 and a 5-2 loss to Schalke to see the last time Inter lost a UCL home game by a large enough margin to be eliminated in regulation time. Simone Inzaghi is ad portas and ready to become the first Italian coach to lead Inter to the semifinals of Europe’s premier competition since Eugenio Bersellini in the 1980/81 campaign.
Benfica make the trip to Italy on the back of a shock 1-0 loss to Chaves in Primeira Liga action, and with that result extended their losing streak in all competitions to three games. If recent form doesn’t offer much hope for Benfica, then the fact that they have already won on Italian soil this season perhaps does, as they beat Juventus 2-1 in the group stage of this UCL.
However, they have not had good results against Italian sides often, as that win is one of four they have had against Italian opponents in that country (E1, P11). They seem well positioned to improve on that record here thanks to an unbeaten run of nine away games in the UCL (G6, E3), but considering that only one of those wins came by a large enough margin to avoid possible extra time and penalties, Benfica’s slim hopes of progression may need more than the regular 90 minutes.
Players to watch: Inter penalty taker Romelu Lukaku has scored four of his last five goals from the spot, including the last goal of the game in the previous clash between these two sides. Benfica’s Rafa is enjoying a fruitful UCL campaign and will be hoping for entertainment if he scores again – each of the last three Champions League games in which he has scored have ended with at least six goals in total.
Standout Fact: None of Inter’s last six home games in the UCL have ended in goals for either team.
Inter – Benfica : Betting Tips
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.25
