The elimination phase of the Champions League has begun, and tonight we will have our eyes set on one of the most intriguing ties with our very best Inter v Atletico prediction. Inter have stormed through the Italian Seria A and have now earned a 9-point advantage over second place Juve with a game in hand. The Nerazzuri have dominated their domestic opponents and lead the league in goals scored with 59 while having conceded the fewest – just 12 in 24 matches. Goals have been coming from all over the place for Inter, but of course, Lautaro Martinez and Thuram have been the leaders in that category and have formed up an excellent partnership in attack as they both play without any ego, like to share the ball and play for their teammates.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid, led by former Inter midfielder Diego Simeone, have always been a tough nut to crack in Europe. The Spaniards thrive in such competitions due to their physicality and compact playing style where they rarely open up and like to hit their opponents on the counter. Given these tendencies, it’s logical to expect a low scoring game with few opportunities. Still, backed up by a sold out Meazza stadium and the Nerazzuri faithful, Inzaghi’s men will be looking to take an advantage going into the second leg in the Spanish capital in two weeks.
Francesco Acerbi will miss the game for Inter, but Inzaghi has plenty of options in the back as Pavard, De Vrij and Bastoni should form a solid trio of central defenders in front of what has looked like an unbeatable goalkeeper in Yann Sommer. Denzel Dumfries has been getting back to his best and played his first game as a starter in over two months in Inter’s last match – a convincing 4:0 win at home against Salernitana on Friday. Dumfries got on the scoresheet, and he is expected to be given the starting nod once again tonight. On the left side, Di Marco is irreplaceable for Inter and has been putting up great performances for the team this entire year.
The midfield trident will once again be formed by Barella, Çalhanoğlu, and Mkhitaryan. The fact that Inzaghi has been able to rely on them, so consistently this year has allowed these three to form a great level of cohesiveness where they know where each one is on the field at all times without even looking.
Up front, Lautaro and Thuram will look to continue their impressive displays and lead Inter to another victory.
Having watched closely Inter this year season, I can say that they really taken a step forward and are even better than they were last year. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that Inter are one of the four best teams in Europe along with Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid. Although it might be a long shot, I would not be surprised to see them even winning the Champions League this year. Of course, in order for that to happen, they will have to take care of Atletico Madrid first, and that won’t be an easy task by any means.
Although Atletico are probably not as good as they were about ten years ago where they made it to the Champions League Finals twice in three years (2014 and 2016), they are still a very difficult team to beat. In fact, they scored the second most goals in this year’s group stage of the Champions League. Looking at their team, they still have a world-class goalkeeper in Oblak, while Griezmann and Depay have been household names in European football for a decade now. Perhaps Witsel is sort of a weak link in defense, and their midfield lacks an abundance of creativity. But overall, it’s a typical Diego Simeone team that will fight hard and cause Inter problems.
Inter have won eight straight games, and as we have pointed out in our BetOnWins eBook – MASTERING THE ART OF SPORTS BETTING you always look at such streaks to end. A draw could be a good bet here. However, my money is on the Goals market. We won’t see a goal fest, but given Inter’s attacking style of play, the game should not be scoreless either.
