Inter Milan v Real Madrid – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Inter Milan welcome Real Madrid to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League. Both sides are currently outside the top two in their group and face elimination unless they overtake Borussia Monchengladbach and Shakhtar Donetsk. That makes this a crucial match and one that Inter Milan really need to win if they hope to make the knockout rounds.

Inter Milan Form

Antonio Conte’s side have not been at their best so far this season. In their last nine matches, they have just two wins and five draws. Those defeats came in the Milan derby and away to Real Madrid so it’s not all doom and gloom for their season if they can win this match.

This past weekend saw the side end a four match winless run (3D, 1L) with a 4-2 home win against Torino in Serie A as Romelu Lukaku dragged a brace and Alexis Sanchez and Lautaro Martinez (from the bench) got one goal each.

Inter Milan Team News

Lautaro Martinez was only on the bench over the weekend after international duty but he will probably start this match with Alexis Sanchez amongst the substitutes. Marcelo Brozovic and Aleksandar Kolarov both have Covid-19 so are expected to be missing and Matias Vecino have been out long-term with a knee problem.

Inter Milan Motivation

This is a massive game for Conte and Inter. A defeat would leave the Nerazzurri on the verge of elimination if Borussia Monchengladbach beat Shakhtar at home as expected. A draw would keep their hopes alive but mean qualification is no longer in their hands. Conte had all of his three main forwards (Lukaku, Martinez, Sanchez) on the pitch for 23 minutes against Torino and it’s a decent plan B if Inter are chasing the game.

Real Madrid Form

Los Blancos are having a strange period. After back to back early season losses, they picked up good wins in subsequent matches away at Barcelona and at home against Inter Milan in a run of three wins in four games.

Since that Inter Milan win, they were thrashed 4-1 at Valencia and 1-1 at Villarreal. Mariano Diaz gave Zidane’s side an early lead as he started in place of the injured Benzema. Villarreal levelled from the penalty spot, the fourth penalty Real Madrid have conceded in the last two matches.

Real Madrid Team News

Real Madrid had Eden Hazard back from Covid-19 for their last match but Casemiro was still self-isolating. Sergio Ramos was missing with a hamstring problem and Karim Benzema was also absent with a knock ahead of this Inter match. Nacho and Dani Carvajal made their returns after injuries in defence against Villarreal. Both Ramos and Benzema will likely be fit to return for this game due to the importance of it.

Real Madrid Motivation

Madrid would likely be very happy with a draw in Milan. That would take them above Shakhtar should the Ukrainian side lose in Germany to Monchengladbach. With the recent defensive issues for Zidane to deal with, he may set his side up more defensively than usual. In wide areas, he may need more a more defensively responsible wide player than Eden Hazard to deal with Achraf Hakimi, Inter’s dynamic right wingback.

Key Stats

Inter Milan have won 2 of their last 9 matches

Real Madrid have scored 14 goals in their last 6 matches

Inter Milan have lost 1 of their last 7 matches

Real Madrid have lost 3 of their last 8 matches

Inter Milan have drawn 3 of their last 5 matches

Real Madrid are 3 away games without a win (2D, 1L)

Inter Milan have seen over 2.5 goals in 3 of their last 4 matches

Real Madrid have seen over 3.5 goals in 6 of their last 7 matches

Prediction

This is a difficult game to call but a high scoring draw looks the most likely outcome or perhaps an Inter Milan win at home as an alternative if you see Lukaku running riot.

Best Bet: Draw 3.80