Bayer Leverkusen vs Inter Milan Prediction: Visitors can cause another low-scoring game

Bayer Leverkusen welcome Inter Milan to the BayArena on Tuesday (20:00, TNT Sports 2) looking to build on their 5-0 hammering of RB Salzburg last time out. Xabi Alonso's side sit sixth in the league table with 10 points, putting them in a strong position with three matches to go. 

Inter are also in an excellent position as they are second with 13 points from a possible 15 so far in Europe. Their last encounter saw them defeat RB Leipzig at home, so they will be looking to defeat another German opponent here. Read on for my Bayer Leverkusen vs Inter Milan prediction, including the latest match odds and team news.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Inter Milan Odds

Bayer Leverkusen are 6/5 to win this fixture, and the hosts have won both of their home encounters to date in Europe this season. This gives them a theoretical chance of 45.5%. Inter Milan are valued at 15/8 to come away with the three points, and they are yet to taste defeat in the Champions League.

These two sides have played out a draw each, and a stalemate is marketed at 9/4 (30.8%) for this one.

Both teams to score is available at 8/13 but has struck just once for Bayer Leverkusen in Europe, while Inter are yet to concede a goal. Over 2.5 goals has landed in three of the hosts' European fixtures this term and it is priced at 8/11 for this contest.

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz has netted five goals in the Champions League so far and he is 11/4 to score anytime on Tuesday.

Football Odds

Team News

Alonso is having to cope with the absence of his two main striking options at the moment, with Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick out with injury problems. Wirtz has played as a false nine in their absence, while he was supported by Nathan Tella at the weekend against St Pauli in the Bundesliga.

Jonas Hoffman and Amine Adli are the other two players in the Leverkusen treatment room.

Granit Xhaka should maintain his place in the midfield and could be joined again by Exequiel Palacios and Robert Andrich if Alonso opts for the same midfield that cruised past Salzburg a few weeks ago. Alex Grimaldo is set to support as the left wing-back, while Jeremie Frimpong could return to the side on the right.

For Inter, Benjamin Pavard is out of action due to injury but Simone Inzaghi has welcomed back Francesco Acerbi to partial training - so it could mean there is a slight chance he makes the squad on Tuesday. Second-choice goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro is the only other main absentee for the visitors ahead of Tuesday.

Davide Frattesi and Carlos Augusto returned to the squad on Friday against Parma. Both were unused substitutes so there could be a chance they may be given a run out in this fixture.

Inter's midfield looks set to feature former Leverkusen man Hakan Calhanoglu at its base, while Nicolo Barella and Piotr Zielinski should operate in front of him. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer is looking for a sixth-straight clean sheet in Europe and will fancy his chances against a Leverkusen side that are lacking two of their biggest goal threats.

Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have been Inzaghi's main duo up front this season, but the Inter boss has never shied away from rotating them. One of them could be demoted to the bench for some rest, presenting an opportunity for the likes of Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic.

Draw @ 9/4

Going off what we've seen in the Champions League so far, I feel comfortable in thinking Inter will not be beaten here, and that has been emphasised by the fitness concerns to Leverkusen forwards Boniface and Schick.

However, Leverkusen are a tough nut to crack on home soil themselves, and this will still present the Italian side with one of their biggest challenges to date this season. Inzaghi's men have a talent for soaking up pressure and they've done extremely well so far, but can it last?

Alonso may not have a recognised striker available but he still has Wirtz, who has opened the scoring on three occasions in Europe this term - the joint-most of any player in the competition alongside AC Milan's Christian Pulisic.

Wirtz has five in total and netted a brace against Salzburg last time out, which of course came inside the BayArena. The German international seems to be effective wherever he plays, and that will still give Inter plenty to think about heading into the game.

The fact that Inter are yet to be beaten is a testament to their organisation and discipline. We've seen them frustrate the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal already, and they will feel they can do the same to Leverkusen.

The hosts are in good form, though, so Inter will need to be at their best to keep their impressive defensive record going. Leverkusen have won five games on the bounce across all competitions, including a DFB-Pokal triumph over Bayern Munich.

Alonso and his players have found a way to manage without the two strikers for the last four matches and have still found ways to win. While Inter will provide them with an extremely difficult task at home, I do believe they can take something from the game, so I think a draw might be a shrewd selection.

Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1

While Inter have been outstanding at the back in Europe, they haven't exactly been explosive going forward. I Nerazzurri have scored just seven goals from their opening five matches, which is the lowest of any team currently ranked inside the automatic qualification spots.

There's been one game in which we've seen them be ruthless going forward and that was the 4-0 home routing of Red Star Belgrade - who are 31st in the table. All their other games have been low-scoring, one 0-0 and three 1-0 victories.

Under 2.5 goals has been a winning selection in four of their Champions League outings so far, and I think we could see this trend continue against Leverkusen. The German outfit have managed four goals more than the visitors so far and only two of their matches have produced less than three goals.

That being said, they are coming up against one of the most stubborn defences in Europe, and that could blunt their attacking threat. I know I sound like a broken record but this could easily happen without a recognised centre-forward on the pitch.

Wirtz is great but cannot offer the physical elements that Boniface and Schick can - and this should play right into Inter's hands. The visitors are not the most prolific side either, so Leverkusen can frustrate their attackers - I mean they've kept three clean sheets themselves already.

I think this could point towards a low-scoring tight affair in west Germany.

Offers

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