Inter Milan vs Arsenal Prediction: Under 2.5 goals covered in 9/2 shot

Inter Milan welcome Arsenal to San Siro for matchday four of the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday (20:00, TNT Sports1), with both teams having gone unbeaten in the competition so far.

Neither side have conceded a goal yet, suggesting this clash could be a very tight affair. The Gunners will be looking for a response here after a very disappointing performance and defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League last Saturday. Read on for my Inter Milan vs Arsenal prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Inter Milan vs Arsenal Odds

Inter Milan are 6/4 to emerge victorious here, giving them an implied probability of 40%. Arsenal are priced at 15/8 to take the three points, which gives them a theoretical chance of 34.8%. The draw is on offer at 11/5 (31.3%).

Both teams to score is available at 4/5 and over 2.5 goals can be backed at 11/10.

Football Odds

Team News

Inter boss Simone Inzaghi only has one major absentee for this clash and that is Carlos Augusto, who is not expected back until later this month due to a hamstring injury. Federico Dimarco is first choice at left-back anyway, and the defender has his spot on the team sheet locked down.

The medical staff will closely monitor key figure Alessandro Bastoni after the defender was forced off in the second half against Venezia at the weekend. It is believed that he was substituted because of cramp, but Inzaghi could be tempted not to risk him on Wednesday.

Ex-Arsenal man Henrikh Mkhitaryan should start in midfield alongside Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu, while Lautaro Martinez is expected to start up front, potentially alongside Marcus Thuram, Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic.

For Arsenal, it looks like captain and influential midfielder Martin Odegaard is closing in on a return to action, having been sidelined since September. The Gunners have missed him sorely over the past few weeks with a clear lack of creative intelligence out on the pitch at times.

There's a small chance he could feature in Italy, but I think Mikel Arteta will save him to play a potential role at the weekend against Chelsea. Declan Rice hasn't travelled to Italy so he will not be involved but the reason as yet remains unclear.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney are ruled out for this one with their respective injuries. Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes both started at the weekend after having suffered knocks recently, so they are expected to keep their places in Milan.

Leandro Trossard could drop out of the side if Arteta decides to reinstate Thomas Partey into the midfield to play alongside Mikel Merino and potentially Jorginho.

Draw @ 11/5

Seeing as both these sides are yet to concede a goal in Europe, it is fair to assume this will be a close contest. They both drew their opening matches which were goalless, with Inter having played Manchester City, while Arsenal took on Atalanta.

They have both since won two on the bounce, and they will look to keep their unbeaten starts going. Inter head into this game with more confidence as they have won their last two domestic matches, while Arsenal have failed to win any of their last three in the Premier League.

Wednesday will see two strong defences go up against one another, so this contest could be played out like a chess match. The Gunners certainly need to inject some confidence into themselves as they need to start winning matches in the Premier League again.

This would be a great opportunity to do that, but I can't see that happening. After Inter kept Man City at bay, I'm fairly confident that they can limit Arsenal's out-of-form attackers too.

The hosts' attacking players looked a little out of shape themselves at the weekend despite winning, as they only managed the one goal from 19 attempts. The role of the two defences looks to be the key for this fixture, and that is why I feel like backing the draw feels like the most sensible selection.

Bet Builder - Under 2.5 goals, Denzel Dumfries to receive a card & Kai Havertz to commit 1+ fouls @ 9/2

As such, this has led me to get a bit more creative with my second pick, opting for a bet builder. It starts off with under 2.5 goals because both defences have been exceptional in the Champions League so far, and are yet to be breached.

I mentioned above that Arsenal's attackers are not playing particularly well at the minute, while Inter's forwards have been showing signs of struggle in front of goal at times. Under 2.5 goals has been a winning selection in two of the hosts' three European clashes so far, while all of Arsenal's matches have seen less than three goals scored.

Next is for Inter wing-back Denzel Dumfries to receive a card. The Netherlands international has already picked up one booking in this competition, and he has been penalised for seven fouls from the opening three matches.

He'll likely be tasked with handling Arsenal wide man Gabriel Martinelli on Wednesday, whose acceleration could cause the defender a few problems. Due to the nature of his role, he gets forward a lot, which could leave him exposed if Arsenal break on the counter, and it is here where I can see him being forced to take one for the team to pick up his second booking of the campaign.

Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz is no stranger to committing fouls either, with he himself having also been penalised seven times in the Champions League. The makeshift centre-forward doesn't shy away from getting stuck into challenges, and it feels like there have been plenty of them in recent matches due to his side's poor run of form.

I think we will see his frustration out on the pitch at San Siro, so I'm confident in backing him to commit another foul.

Offers

Double Delight & Hat-Trick Heaven: Place a pre-match single bet on the first goalscorer market and get DOUBLE or TREBLE the odds if your winning First Goalscorer bet scores a 2nd and 3rd.

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League game on Tuesday or Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Europa League games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement)

Build your own Bet Builder bet (3/1+) of 4+ legs on Inter Milan v Arsenal and get 50% of your stake back in Free Bets if you lose. (Credited within 24 hours)

We will be Top Price on Arsenal to beat Inter Milan with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Wednesday 06/11)