Inter-Benfica is a match for the second day of the Champions League group stage and will be played on Tuesday at 21:00: TV, lineups, predictions.
Five months later it’s Inter v Benfica again. The Nerazzurri meet the Lusitani, who last April represented one of the last two stumbling blocks before the final in Istanbul, then lost narrowly to Haaland and Guardiola’s Manchester City.
At the time, Simone Inzaghi’s team managed to prevail (0-2 in the first leg and 3-3 in the return) over an opponent who had done very well up to that point and were considered a credible outsider to go all the way in the competition. It was after their success in Lisbon that Inter, having just come through a complicated period, began their comeback to (almost) end their season on a high, racking up victory after victory, including the semi-final against AC Milan and the Coppa Italia against Fiorentina. Lautaro Martinez and his team-mates now remain the big favourites for first place in the group along with the Portuguese, but the start of their respective adventures has not been the best. Inter were held back by Real Sociedad: after an ugly first half, Inzaghi’s chestnuts were removed from the fire by the usual Lautaro, who scored the equaliser three minutes from the end (1-1).
The Argentine striker took the cover again on Saturday, coming on in the second half to score four goals against Salernitana (0-4). Three points that allowed the Nerazzurri to put their first defeat of the season against Sassuolo (1-2) behind them and respond to their Milan cousins, with whom they now share the top of the table.
For both an uphill start
Benfica have only lost two games so far between cups and the league. But one of them threatens to affect their Champions League run
Di Maria v Salzburg
Two weeks ago, Salzburg’s Austrians surprisingly beat Lisbon’s Da Luz 2-0, taking advantage of the Lusitanians’ numerical inferiority from 13′ of the first half due to defender Antonio Silva being sent off. In Group D, the only team still pinned to zero points is Roger Schmidt’s team, which, however, promptly redeemed itself in the Liga Portugal. Last Friday, a goal from Angel Di Maria, who returned to the Portuguese capital in the summer after 13 years, settled O Clássico against Porto, who were beaten 1-0 at the Da Luz. It was the sixth consecutive league victory for Benfica, who were only beaten on their debut by Boavista in a pyrotechnic 3-2 win. It was a success, the one against Porto, that earned them overtaking the Dragoes and the second place behind the leader Sporting. Schmidt will line up the standard formation in Milan: only the disqualified Antonio Silva will be missing. Inter, on the other hand, will be short of men in attack after the injury to Arnautovic. Also absent will be Frattesi and, probably, Cuadrado.
The prediction
Benfica may have blown their opener against Salzburg, but they are an opponent to be taken with a grain of salt. And after the defeat to the Austrians, Schmidt’s men know that the margin for error is much smaller. Inter have not been particularly exciting in the matches following their rousing derby victory over AC Milan, but they remain a notch above the Portuguese: their fine display in Salerno showed that the defeat to Sassuolo was just one of the more classic mishaps along the way. Nerazzurri favourites in a match of at least three goals overall, a trend that has so far always been recorded in Benfica’s matches away from home.
The likely line-up for Inter v Benfica
- INTER (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martínez, Thuram.
- BENFICA (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Bah, Otamendi, Morato, Ausrnes; João Neves, Kökçü; Di María, Rafa, João Mário; Musa.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
