Champions League: Two Into Three Don’t Go In Bid For Last 16!

Inter Milan vs Borussia Dortmund

If one of the giants of the Italian game are superstitious, they should be delighted they are playing Borussia Dortmund in this year’s Champions League.

For on both of the previous occasions they have locked horns in European combat, Inter have not only gone onto knockout their German counterparts but gone onto win the tournament.

The SBOBET Champions League betting odds makes them favourites to emerge victorious this time around too.

They could do with winning as Inter are already lagging behind in Group F and can ill afford to lose more ground in what is a tough pool.

With Barcelona favourites to win the group, second spot up for grabs and match-winners all over the park, we should expect Champions League highlights as well.

Talking Points

A quick look at Inter and it’s clear to see why new boss Antonio Conte wanted to spend big this summer.

Their marquee signing Romelu Lukaku has been excellent since arriving from Manchester United with five goals in nine games across all competitions this season.

Last weekend, he added to his ever-growing chemistry with Lautaro Martínez as both bagged a brace in a hard fought 4-3 win at Sassuolo in Serie A.

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UEFA – Champions League

It means Inter remain second in the standings, just one behind leaders and reigning champions Juventus.

It’s not been so good domestically for Dortmund so far, yet they are only point off the top, albeit in fourth place.

They won in the Bundesliga on Saturday with Marco Reus scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory against his former club Borussia Monchengladbach.

Arguably the main talking point about that, though, was the fact England teenager Jadon Sancho was left out of the squad after returning late from international duty.

The 19-year-old, who featured in both England’s recent Euro 2020 qualifiers, was omitted by Lucien Favre for disciplinary reasons.

The forward, who has recorded four goals and seven assists for the club so far in 2019-20,will surely have learned his lesson and be back in the mix for this one.

Dortmund may have 15 points from their first eight Bundesliga games this season, five points less than at the same stage last season.

But that win on Saturday set a new club record of finding the net in 29 successive Bundesliga home games – the previous record of 28 was set between February 2011 and October 2012.

On the downside, the statistics are not on their side.

Dortmund have won only two of their last seven Champions League matches – one of those victories was last time out against Slavia Prague – while they have only won three times in their last 13 European away matches, although all of those wins have come in their last five matches and all in the Champions League.

Not that Inter can exactly point to records in their favour.

Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus scored against Borussia Monchengladbach — Marco Reus celebrates scoring against Borussia Monchengladbach

As well as picking up only one point from their first two group fixtures, the Nerazzurri have struggled at home to German visitors in recent years and home and away are without a win in six games against Bundesliga opponents (drawn one, lost five).

Can that run now end? All the pressure is certainly on the hosts.

History

This will be their fifth ever meeting in European combat and the clashes have all been decades apart.

In the European Cup semi-finals in 1964, the sides drew 2-2 in Dortmund before Inter won the second leg 2-0.

Franz Brungs was on target twice for the Germans with Sandro Mazzola and Mario Corso netting for Inter.

Mazzola and Jair da Costa scored the goals as Inter went onto defeat Real Madrid 3-1 to lift their first ever European Cup.

Fast forward 30 years and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup saw Inter – spearheaded by Dennis Bergkamp – win 3-1 in Dortmund thanks to a double from Dutchman Wim Jonk and one from Igor Shalimov. Michael Schulz was the home marksman.

In the second leg, Michael Zorc and Lars Ricken scored in a 2-1 success in the San Siro with Antonio Manicone replying for Inter who went through 4-3 on aggregate.

Inter again went onto defeat Italian rivals Cagliari in the semi-finals (5-3 on aggregate) and Austria Salzburg in the two-legged final (2-0 on aggregate).