Champions League: Unbeaten Benfica Set to Battle Slumping Inter

Benfica vs Inter Milan

Two titans of European football meet once again as Benfica host Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. The two sides famously met in the 1965 European Cup final, which Inter won 1-0 at the San Siro.

But the Nerazzurri, who defeated Portuguese champions Porto in the previous round, will come into this quarter-final tie in horrendous form as they’ve gone winless in their last six games.

And now they will face a Benfica side that is still unbeaten in this year’s competition and will look to swing the Champions League 2023 odds in their favour at the Estadio da Luz.

Talking Points

Benfica still unbeaten in this year’s Champions League

Benfica have been quite literally unbeatable in the Champions League this season. Despite starting their campaign in the qualifying rounds, they remain unbeaten in 12 games, with 10 wins and two draws – both against Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage. They also defeated Juventus in both group games and crushed Club Brugge 7-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.

Benfica boss Roger Schmidt was handed a massive blow with the sale of key midfielder Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea during the January transfer window. But the Eagles have remained dominant despite the Argentine’s departure.

They have lost just twice without Enzo. One was on penalties in the Portuguese Cup when they finished with just nine men. And the other was on the weekend at home to fierce rivals Porto, although Benfica still have a comfortable seven-point lead atop the table.

Benfica are still without attacking midfielders Julian Draxler and Goncalo Guedes, who remain out injured. But Schmidt still has a wealth of attacking options he can call upon against Inter.

21-year-old Goncalo Ramos is the team’s primary threat with 20 goals this season, but he has not been their main man for Champions League 2023 highlights. Former Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario is the club’s top scorer in the competition with six goals, while Rafa Silva has scored five.

Inter Milan in disastrous form

Inter Milan are in utter disarray at the moment. The Nerazzurri have not won in their last six games, with three losses and three draws in all competitions, as the pressure mounts on coach Simone Inzaghi.

Even Inter’s round of 16 win over Porto was unconvincing as they were arguably outplayed over the two legs.

Inter were held to a 1-1 draw by Salernitana over the weekend as they continue to lose ground in the tight top-four race.

The one piece of good news for Inter is that Romelu Lukaku continues to show signs of returning to top form. The Belgian supplied the assist in Inter’s opening goal against Salernitana and hit the woodwork.

He also scored in the Coppa Italia against Juventus, bagged a hat-trick for Belgium against Sweden during the international break, and got the decisive goal against Porto in the Champions League round of 16.

But while Lukaku is getting back to his best, strike partner Lautaro Martinez is in the midst of another scoring drought. After his red-hot run after returning from the World Cup, the Argentine striker has scored just one goal in his last nine games.

Centre-back Milan Skriniar and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu missed the Salernitana match due to injury, and they remain questionable to return against Benfica. Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be the main options to start should Skriniar and Calhanoglu miss out again.

History

Aside from their famous European Cup final meeting in 1965, Benfica and Inter met two other times before. Those came in the last 16 of the 2003-04 UEFA Cup. Inter emerged victorious from that tie with a win and a draw over the two legs.

Benfica beat Juventus in both of their Champions League group stage matches this season. But before that, they had a terrible record against Italian opposition, with just two wins, two draws and seven defeats in 11 games.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Benfica installed as slight 2.19 favourites to win the first leg at home. Inter are priced at 3.00 while a draw is 3.20.

It’s hard to back Inter to get a positive result from their trip to Portugal given their poor form of late. Benfica have been brilliant in the Champions League thus far and have the attacking talent to trouble Inter’s inconsistent defence.

Look for Benfica to beat struggling Inter and take some sort of advantage into the second leg at the San Siro.

 

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