Inter Milan will look to seal their progression into the semi-final round of the UEFA Champions League when they welcome Portuguese side Benfica to San Siro on Wednesday.
The hosts put one foot into the tournament’s next round when they secured a 2-0 win in the first leg in Lisbon.
However, a shock 1-0 home defeat to Monza at the weekend brought them back down to earth and proved Inter are penetrable at the San Siro. So they must be on their guard to warn off Benfica’s advances and secure a first UCL semi-final spot since 2010.
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Considering they have won 17 of the 18 UEFA competition ties in which they have triumphed away from home in the first leg, they look well placed to book a last-four date. So Simone Inzaghi is poised to become the first home-grown Italian coach to lead Inter to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition since Eugenio Bersellini in 1980/81.
Like their hosts, Benfica makes the trip to Italy on the back of a shock 1-0 defeat of their own, going down against Chaves in Primeira Liga action. The result extended their losing run across all competitions to three matches, with just one goal scored in that period.
If their recent form doesn’t offer much hope for Benfica, then the fact they have already won on Italian soil this season perhaps does, as they beat Juventus 2-1 in group-stage action. However, overall, they have a poor record against Italian teams, with that win against Juventus being one of just four on Italian soil (D1, L11).
They do appear well placed to improve upon that record here, though, as they come into this tie on the back of a nine-match unbeaten run in UCL away games (W6, D3).
Meanwhile, none of Inter’s last six UCL home games have seen both teams score. So we can expect another low-scoring game of under 2.5 goals.
