Prediction: Inter Milan vs Benfica

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: 888sport

Inter Milan and Benfica are set to play the second leg of their clash in the Champions League quarterfinals at San Siro on Wednesday. The Italian side are two goals ahead after the first leg, courtesy of goals by Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku, and it should be interesting to see if the Portuguese team have something in their locker to turn the tide.

Inter Milan

Things haven’t been going well for Inter in the Serie A, and it’s probably fair to say that their Champions League success and the fact that they’re playing in the semifinals of Coppa Italia are keeping head coach Simone Inzaghi in his job.

Since beating Lecce at the beginning of March, Inter have played eight matches in all competitions so far, and the game in Lisbon was the only triumph they’ve recorded in that time. Their last-six run consist of a 0-1 league defeat at home against Juventus, the same outcome at home against Fiorentina, a 1-1 draw away to Juventus in the first leg of their clash in the semifinals of the Cup, a 1-1 draw away to Salernitana, the 0-2 win over Benfica in Lisbon, and a 0-1 defeat at home at the hands of 13th-place Monza.

Such a run has obviously seen the Nerazzurri lose their position within the top four of the Italian top flight, and unless something changes very soon or they end up winning the Champions League now, they’ll find it hard to qualify for UEFA’s elite club competition in 2023/24. Nothing is decided yet, of course, with eight rounds left to be played.

But at the moment, Inter are fifth with 51 points, five less than AS Roma in third and two less than city rivals AC Milan. Lazio, who are 10 points ahead in second place, have obviously pulled away in that aspect and their place in the Champions League shouldn’t come into question, while Napoli continue their slow stride towards the Scudetto.

On the other hand, Inzaghi’s team has shown great consistency and maturity in the Champions League, and given the score from the first leg, they’ll fancy themselves to get past Benfica and reach the semifinals.

Team News

Attacking midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is back in contention, having recovered from injury, but isn’t likely to start just yet. On the other hand, Milan Skriniar, who has been absent for a while with a back problem, is likely to be joined on the sidelines by fellow defender Stefan de Vrij, who picked up an ankle injury in the Monza defeat.

With Andre Onana in goal, the trio of Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni should form the back line. Marcelo Brozovic is likely to be joined by Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in midfield again, with Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco on the flanks. Upfront, we’re likely to see the duo of Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez, with Romelu Lukaku and Joaquin Correa waiting for their chance on the bench.

Benfica

The domestic scenery was much kinder to Benfica until about two weeks ago. Since then, it seems the focus on the Champions League and the battle against Inter has taken it’s toll, and unless they arrest the drop in form in time, they may yet end up surrendering the top spot in the Primeira Liga to FC Porto soon.

The gap between them is still in Benfica’s favour, but now it’s only four points wide, having been 10 at the start of the month.

It’s very telling of the change for the worse that has come upon Roger Schmidt’s team that their last-six run in all competitions consists of three wins, followed by three defeats.

They first beat Maritimo 0-3 away, then Vitoria SC 5-1 at home, and Rio Ave 0-1 away. But then they lost 1-2 at home to Porto, 0-2 at home to Inter in the first leg, and they were stunned again a couple of days ago, losing 1-0 away to Primeira’s 10th-place side Chaves. Stunned is perhaps an understatement here, given that Benfica had the ball for 68% of the time and took a total of 20 shots, only to concede the only goal of the game in the 94th minute.

Some would say that the task of climbing the mountain in Milan on Wednesday comes at the best possible moment as might help them regain some confidence and deliver a strong finish to the season, but for most, it certainly doesn’t seem that way.

Team News

The best piece of news for Schmidt ahead of the game is that he’ll have captain Nicolas Otamendi at his disposal again, as well as midfielder Florentino who missed the Chaves loss through suspension. However, attacking midfielder Julian Draxler is set to miss out again through injury, as are left-back Mihailo Ristic and right-back Alexander Bah.

Odysseas Vlachodimos will be in goal. Otamendi will take up his spot in the heart of defence alongside Antonio Silva, with Gilberto on the right and Alejandro Grimaldo on the left. Florentino should join Fredrik Aursnes to boost the defensive part of the midfield, allowing the trio of David Neres, Rafa Silva and Joao Mario more freedom as they support striker Goncalo Ramos.

Conclusion

Inter will likely seek to shut all doors and windows that could provide Benfica with a path towards Onana’s goal, and unless the visitors somehow manage to score early, the game will probably grow slower with each passing minute to help seal the Serie A side’s place in the semifinals.

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: 888sport