Inter-Salzburg is a match valid for the third day of the group stage of the Champions League and is played Tuesday at 6:45 pm: TV, lineups, predictions.
Cup Inter for now bears little resemblance to the Inter seen at work in the league. The numbers speak for themselves, especially the offensive ones: in Serie A, Simone Inzaghi’s team boasts, by far, the best attack in the tournament with 24 goals scored in 9 days.
A prolificacy that in the two matches played in the Champions League so far has never been seen: the Nerazzurri scored only one goal against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, avoiding defeat by a whisker (1-1); with Benfica at San Siro, on the other hand, they wasted everything – catching several woodpeckers – and settled, in the end, for a skimpy 1-0. Against the Lusitanians the decisive goal was scored by Marcus Thuram, who once again confirmed himself as the man of providence for the Piacenza coach. The former ‘Gladbach last Saturday also unblocked another match that seemed “bewitched,” the one with Torino: one of his goals opened the dances at the beginning of the second half, allowing Inter to pierce the granata wall and bring home three platinum points (0-3), fundamental to return to the top of the standings and overtake again the cousins of Milan. Erased, momentarily, the ghosts of the match with Bologna (2-2) before the break, but now we need to find continuity again.
Inter, evidence of first place
It will be important to do so in the Champions League, where the hierarchies are not yet well defined: Inter leads the group with Real Sociedad on 4 points, but behind are Salzburg – the Austrians are third with 3 points – and, surprisingly, Benfica, still pinned to last place.
Salzburg’s Solet (right) against Real Sociedad
On the third day it will be Gerhard Struber’s men’s turn to pay a visit to Inter Milan at the San Siro, which they already attended last year (but then the opponent was AC Milan). Salzburg had started their adventure with an incredible victory in Lisbon (0-2 against Benfica) but in the next round they surrendered, with the same result, to Real Sociedad. Things are not going so well at home, where Salzburg is used to creating a vacuum after just a few days. And instead it has won only two of its last four games and on Saturday was beaten at home by Lask Linz (0-1), seeing the top spot, occupied by Sturm Graz, recede further. Struber, in addition to the unavailable Fernando, Omoregie and Wallner, may also have to do without former Fiorentina player Terzic, while Inzaghi has recovered Frattesi. The only absentees, in Inter, are Cuadrado and Arnautovic.
The prediction
Salzburg, who meet Inter again after the final of the then 1993-94 Uefa Cup – lifted by the Nerazzurri thanks to two victories between the first leg and the return leg – in the Champions League has never managed to beat an Italian team. The Austrians, while remaining an opponent to be taken with caution because they are full of talented youngsters – they are, for years, Leipzig’s “reservoir” – do not seem capable of making life difficult for an Inter team that is on the upswing and could achieve a rounded success at the San Siro, scoring two to four goals.
The probable lineups of Inter-Salzburg
- INTER (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram.
- SALISBURG (4-3-1-2): Schlager; Dedic, Baidoo, Pavlovic, Terzic; Bidstrup, Gourna-Douath, Kjaergaard; Gloukh; Simic, Konaté.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1
