As we are approaching the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, and on Tuesday, high-flying Benfica will host struggling Inter.
Benfica destroyed Club Brugge in the opening round of the knockout stage to advance in consecutive seasons, while Inter defeated another Portuguese team Porto to advance after 12 years.
Benfica had a standout Champions League season this year, finishing first in a group that included powerhouses Juventus and PGS, with the latter team going out in the group stage.
The fact that Roger Schmidt’s team is unbeaten in this year’s competition suggests that they should have high expectations for the Lisbon match. Only Napoli has scored more goals than Benfica in this year, a fact that worries Inter, which has recently had trouble keeping clean sheets in Serie A.
The Portuguese team’s goals have been scored in a variety of ways, but Joao Mario has scored six times, Rafa Silva has scored five times, and the gifted Goncalo Ramos has scored three times. However, the Eagles’ lead at the top of standings was reduced to 7 points on Friday as a result of their 2-1 loss to title rivals Porto as part of their Inter preparation.
Since the end of February, Inter’s miserable run of results has shown that the New Year hasn’t been kind to Simone Inzaghi’s team. After a commendable 1-0 victory over Porto in Europe, Bologna’s defeat marked the beginning of a run of games in which only 1 victory had been secured in 7 games across all competitions.
For Inzaghi’s team, scoring goals has been a problem as the Nerazzurri have failed to score even once in as many games and have not scored more than 1 goal in 3 of those 7 matches.
Romelu Lukaku managed to somehow hit the crossbar from within the penalty area, Nicolo Barella hit the post from a distance, and Guillermo Ochoa made a tonne of saves to keep the home team in the game prior to Antonio Candreva’s fortunate equaliser in 1-1 draw with Salernitana.
Regardless, Inzaghi could find comfort in the calibre of the chances produced on the day, even though they cannot afford any more inconsistencies in front of goal when playing one of the top teams in this season’s Champions League.
Benfica Team News
Goncalo Guedes will not play for Benfica on Tuesday due to a knee injury, Julian Draxler will not travel with Benfica to face Inter due to an ankle injury, and Nicolas Otamendi is suspended.
Due to a hamstring problem, Mihailo Ristic has been absent since February and is most likely to sit out the match against the Nerazzurri. On the left side of Benfica’s defence, Alex Grimaldo, who has two goals and three assists in this season’s Champions League, might put on yet another outstanding performance. Alexander Bah, a right back, was substituted after 26 minutes against Porto and Gilberto would start in his place if he were to be injured.
Possible lineup for Benfica:
Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Silva, Verissimo, Grimaldo; Luis, Chiquinho; Joao Mario, Rafa Silva, Aursnes; Ramos
Inter Team News
Despite giving up a goal on a cross from Candreva against Salernitana, Andre Onana is expected to remain in goal. Due to the midfielder’s injury while representing Turkey during the most recent international break, Milan Skriniar and Hakan Calhanoglu may be unable to participate in the game. In place of Robin Gosens, Federico Dimarco could take over at left wing-back.
Possible lineup for Inter:
Andre Onana; D’Ambrosio, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Nicolo Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko
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