Benfica vs Inter Prediction: Blundering Benfica to be beaten again

Benfica are one of two sides in this season’s Champions League who are yet to pick up a point, along with Antwerp, and they may be in for another tough evening when they host Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Wednesday night.

The hosts are once again top of the Primeira Liga, having won Portugal’s top flight last season, but they have endured a challenging time of things in Europe, losing all four of their matches by an aggregate score of 6-1.

Inter, in contrast, have taken ten points from their first four Group D games and are level on points with section leaders Real Sociedad.

Benfica will be looking to pick up some points and pip RB Salzburg to third place and a spot in the Europa League knockout stage but they will have to be at their best to see off an Inter side with ambitions of topping the section.

Match Odds

With Inter already qualified and Benfica desperate for a win, there is not much to split these sides in the market. A home win is priced at 8/5, an away victory at 13/8 and the draw is available at 23/10.

Neither side are high scorers so 5/6 for under 2.5 goals appeals more than the over 2.5 market, where the same odds are available. Both teams to score can be taken at 4/6, although 11/10 for one side to fail to find the net may prove a better play.

Lautaro Martinez is unsurprisingly favourite to open the scoring, at odds of 6/4, but his strike partner Marcus Thuram and Inter’s flying wing-back Denzel Dumfries appeal as first goalscorers too, at bigger prices of 7/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Team news

Benfica’s Orkun Kokcu made his return from injury with a 12-minute cameo at the weekend and he should play a bigger role against Inter. Alexander Bah and David Neres are out, with the latter’s absence meaning Argentina star Angel Di Maria should get a start on the right wing.

Inter will be without two defenders, Alessandro Bastoni and Benjamin Pavard, but they will have Juan Cuadrado available after he proved his fitness against Juventus on Sunday. Alexis Sanchez missed that match with fatigue following two outings for Chile over the international break, but he should be fit enough to feature in Portugal.

Inter to win @ 13/8

Benfica may be top of their domestic league but the Portuguese champions are massively struggling in Europe and are yet to pick up a point, with that statistic unlikely to change when they welcome Inter on Wednesday.

The Serie A leaders are unbeaten in their last ten matches and their last ten away games, with Simone Inzaghi’s men likely to be feeling confident knowing they have already beaten their hosts twice this year - once this term and once when getting the better of them in the quarter-finals of this competition last season.

Inter are yet to lose in the Champions League this term while Benfica are winless in their last six in the competition and have failed to score in their last three European fixtures.

The reverse fixture saw the Nerazzurri dominate proceedings, outshooting their visitors 21 to six with a 1-0 final score somewhat flattering for the Portuguese champions.

A repeat of that scoreline looks a real possibility in Lisbon, with odds of 17/2 appealing for that outcome, as the hosts will attempt to frustrate their in-form visitors.

Inter have scored more than once in only one of their four group games and while they should prevail, it may be by only a narrow margin.

#PickYourPunt - Lautaro Martinez to score, Angel Di Maria to have a shot on target and Under 3.5 goals @ 13/2

Lautaro Martinez is Inter’s top scorer in the Champions League this season with two goals and he has arguably been even more deadly in Serie A this term, netting 13 times in as many games in Italy’s top flight.

The Argentinian marksman took a mindblowing 10 shots, with three on target, in the last meeting between these sides and he should prove a handful for the Benfica defence once more.

The Portuguese side may look to their own World Cup winner for inspiration too, with Angel Di Maria a likely outlet for the Eagles.

The former Manchester United man has taken a shot on target in nine of his last 11 Primeira Liga games as well as notching one in Benfica’s last Champions League match against section leaders Sociedad, suggesting he may test Yann Sommer on Wednesday.

None of Inter’s last seven Champions League matches have gone over 3.5 goals while only one of Benfica’s has done so this season.

Neither side are notorious for blowing teams away and, given that the last two matches between these teams have seen a combined three goals, a low-scoring encounter should be expected.

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