Prediction: Borussia Dortmund vs Inter Milan

Prediction: Inter Milan win

Best Odds: 14/5

Bookmaker: bet365

Champions League football is going to be back in our lives within a matter of days as we edge closer and closer towards the knockouts. There are many sides still left who could really make some waves in this competition between now and the final and that, in itself, is an exciting prospect. Today we’re going to take a look at what should be an intriguing encounter between Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, as the two sides attempt to put some pressure on Barcelona at the top of the group.

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund still have a few world class stars within their ranks, but it just doesn’t feel like they possess the potential to really challenge at the top of European football right now. They seem to be putting all of their eggs into one basket when it comes to chasing down Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table, and in many ways, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, we do feel like the UCL is going to fall to the side – which could lead to an entry into the Europa League.

Team News

Sancho could settle for a place on the bench with Hazard and Hakimi being preferred in the starting line-up. Reus isn’t expected to recover from his injury, with Schmelzer also being ruled out.

Inter Milan

Inter, in the same manner as Dortmund, are going after one of the big, bad bosses of the European game – Juventus. They’ll be hunting them down for most of the season, but the difference is that we feel like Inter have a clearer direction under Antonio Conte. They’re slowly but surely making the necessary changes to their squad that’ll transform them into contenders once again. Whether or not the starting XI can gel together, though, is a different matter altogether.

Team News

Sensi, Sanchez and D’Ambrosio are still out of action, with Conte not being tipped to make all too many changes.

Factors to Consider

• In their first meeting of the season, Inter beat Dortmund 2-0.
• Dortmund have won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six games.
• Inter have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six games.
• Dortmund have scored eight goals and conceded five in their last six games.
• Inter have scored 13 goals and conceded nine in their last six games.

Conclusion

Dortmund couldn’t really get into much of a rhythm against Inter in their first meeting, and we don’t have much of a reason to believe this’ll be too different – aside from the home fans giving them a bit of a lift. Inter just seem to be the more complete team of the two, and while it’ll likely go down to the wire, we don’t think the German side will be able to hang with them. Given how Barcelona have been performing, you’d have to imagine the winner of this one will inevitably join them in the knockouts, too.

Prediction: Inter Milan win

Best Odds: 14/5

Bookmaker: bet365