Will Benfica remain unbeaten in the top flight?

By now, the path to the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League final is known to all teams. In the course of the draw for the quarter-finals, the possible semi-finals were also drawn at the same time. First, however, the quarter-finals must be survived.

One knockout match without a clear favourite involves a German head coach. In the duel between Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan, almost identical betting odds are offered with the tip “To Qualify”. Minimal advantages are to be found with the Portuguese, who are in good form.

The dress rehearsal on the Easter weekend, however, did not go satisfactorily for either side. Roger Schmidt and his team suffered one of the extremely rare setbacks this season and were defeated by Porto in the top match. The Italian visitors, meanwhile, continued their poor form and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Salernitana. Despite missing out on a win last weekend, the momentum for Benfica Lisbon vs Inter Milan favours a prediction in favour of the home side

At the same time as the match at the Estadio da Luz, the highly anticipated clash between Manchester City and Bayern Munich will also kick off on Tuesday evening.

Benfica Lisbon – Statistics & current form

After not being able to celebrate a championship in the last three years, Benfica Lisbon’s fans, who are used to success, are likely to change that in a few weeks. Under Roger Schmidt, Benfica Lisbon are back to their old strength and after 27 match days have only three points less than in the whole of last season. The convincing performances ensured that Schmidt’s contract was extended early by two more years until 2026. On average, the Red Eagles are collecting an exceptional 2.59 points per match under him.

Third defeat of the season on Good Friday

At the beginning, the Good Friday defeat against their great arch-rivals FC Porto was mentioned. For Benfica Lisbon, it was only their third defeat in a must-win match this season. A defeat against the big rival hurts, but given the starting position, it is still bearable. After 27 of 34 matchdays in the Portuguese league, Benfica Lisbon still have a comfortable seven-point lead.

On the international stage, the Portuguese representative is still completely unbeaten. And this despite the fact that the Schmidt team met Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage, both games against the star ensemble ended in a 1-1 draw. The remaining matches in the top flight were all won. In the round of 16, they beat underdog Club Brugge by a total score of 7:1 to advance to the next round. If the betting on a home win between Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan is correct on Tuesday, the Red Eagles will have won five in a row in the world’s most important club competition for the first time since the 1989/90 season.

The home strength (43 goals in 14 league home games) and the strong form on the international stage are certainly two arguments that make the fifth victory en suite seem realistic. Julian Draxler and Goncalo Guedes are not available. Two absences that can be absorbed, however.

Last matches of Benfica Lisbon:

Liga Portugal
07/04/2023 – Benfica 1 – 2 FC Porto

02/04/2023 – Rio Ave 0 – 1 Benfica

19/03/2023 – Benfica 5 – 1 Vitoria de Guimaraes

13/03/2023 – Maritimo 0 – 3 Benfica

Champions League Final
08/03/2023 – Benfica 5 – 1 Club Bruges

Inter Milan – Statistics & current form

In contrast to Benfica Lisbon, the situation for Inter Milan in the domestic championship is not necessarily pleasant. The Scudetto is no longer an issue, but the Nerazzurri must tremble to even reach the qualification for the UEFA Champions League season 2023/24. After the aforementioned 1-1 draw against US Salernitana, Inter Milan are only in fifth place in the current Serie A table. Nine games remain for Inter to return to a top-four finish.

Not a top team away

One of the main reasons for this situation is revealed when looking at their existing away record. The Inzaghi protégés achieve an average of 2.20 points per game at home in the league, while the team only manages 1.29 points away from home. Five wins are offset by three draws and six defeats. The goal difference is also negative at 21:25.

Especially in the last few weeks, things have not gone according to plan. The progress against FC Porto (total score 1:0) was the only ray of hope, because in Serie A, only one victory was achieved from the last six games. Most recently, Inzaghi’s team went without a win four times in a row. After three defeats, the point gained at Salernitana was at least a small improvement on the last few weeks.

It is also striking that in these six league games, betting on the under 2.5 was the right decision five times. Inzaghi has always stood for an extremely offensive style, but this has clearly changed recently. Due to the existing lack of form, the visitors will not take any unnecessary risks on Tuesday and there will probably not be many scoring chances. Accordingly, between Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan the odds for the prediction on the under 2.5 (or also Both teams meet? No) seem to be a good option. This was already the case twice in the quarter-final against Porto.

Last matches of Inter Milan:

Series A
07/04/2023 – Salernitana 1 – 1 Inter Milan

Coppa Italia
05/04/2023 – Juventus FC 1 – 1 Inter Milan

Serie A
01/04/2023 – Inter Milan 0 – 1 AC Florence

20/03/2023 – Inter Milan 0 – 1 Juventus FC

Champions League Final
15/03/2023 – FC Porto 0 – 0 Inter Milan

Benfica Lisbon – Inter Milan Direct comparison / H2H record

In the final of the 1964/65 European Champions Cup, Inter Milan celebrated a 1-0 victory over the Portuguese. After that, it took almost 40 years before their paths crossed again. In the 2003/04 season, they met in the then UEFA Cup round of 16. At home, Benfica Lisbon managed a goalless draw against the Nerazzurri, while in the away match the Red Eagles from Lisbon suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat. Thus, Benfica have not won any of their three games against the Italians so far.

Benfica Lisbon – Inter Milan betting tips

If Inter Milan want to secure an all-Italian Champions League semi-final (the winner of this knockout clash will face the winner of AC Milan vs SSC Napoli), Inzaghi’s side will probably have to do it at home. Given their very poor away record, it is inconceivable that a prediction on the Italian visitors will be successful on Tuesday between Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan.

In history, Benfica Lisbon have never won against Inter Milan, but that was a long time ago and is no yardstick for the first leg of the 2022/23 CL quarter-final. Of course, Inter Milan have a far bigger name than the Portuguese, but on the green pitch, the Schmidt eleven has been outstanding this CL season, rushing from success to success. Especially in front of the home crowd, a success is very likely due to the Nerazzurri’s weakness away from home. We pick five units to bet between Benfica Lisbon and Inter Milan on the host team to win