Edgar Chaput
May 15, 2023

Internazionale vs AC Milan Prediction: Champions League Semi-Final Odds

The two clubs are going in opposite directions these days, both in Europe and domestically. Inter (Internazionale) clearly have the upper hand as they enter the second leg already up 2-0. Compounding issues is that Milan have struggled to produce goals as of late.

As for the Champions League odds, Inter sit at +105 whilst Milan are pegged at +262. A draw is priced at +228.

Inter Milano +125
Draw +254
AC Milan +192

Internazionale vs AC Milan Betting Analysis

It goes without saying that Simone Inzaghi’s ensemble took a giant leap last Wednesday toward reaching the club’s first Champions League final since 2010. The 2-0 victory came in unexpected fashion. Anyone watching instantly recognized that the “other” Milan club surprised AC by taking such a ferocious initiative.

Nobody predicted that the game would be 2-0 after 11 minutes. Edin Dzeko (eighth) sent a powerful volley off a corner kick despite being harassed by a defender. It was an emphatic, inspiring start to the match. Not only did Inter have a sudden, early advantage, but the nature of the goal suggested they had come to play serious football. Only three minutes later Henrikh Mkhitaryan took advantage of a shockingly spacious area in the Rossoneri’s defence to slot home the second goal. The only lingering question is could Inter regret not capitalizing on some of the later chances they created?

Internazionale

Not only is Inzaghi’s side entering the second leg of this tie with European wind in their sails, but Italian momentum too. In last week’s preview, we alluded to the fact that these two clubs are also fighting for fourth place in Serie A, and the weekend saw some interesting results.

Inter were home to Sassuolo. Wearing their somewhat gaudy banana yellow special shirts, the hosts put terrific pressure on Sassuolo from the outset. After wasting a few opportunities, Romelu Lukaku sent a thunderous, long-range shot into the top corner for a 1-0 lead in the 41^st minute. Inter were not done there. In both the 55^th and 58^th minutes they benefitted from some nasty deflections to triple the lead to 3-0 (Lautaro Martinez being one of Inter’s scorers, the other an own goal).

Sassuolo was not done for the day, however. They netted twice (63^rd and 77^th) to make the final quarter of an hour interesting, but, guess who, Lukako took care of business himself in the 88^th with a close-range, low shot that sealed a 4-2 win. Inter are now third in Serie with 66 points.

AC Milan

Alas, Stefano Pioli did not get the same effort out of his side. They visited relegation-threatened Spezia but failed to make an impact. If anything, the biggest take away was that the Milan ultras gave the players an encouraging talk after the game! As an aside, certain disgruntled Toronto FC fans should take note on how to handle disappointing results.

To be fair, it wasn’t as though the Rossoneri did nothing at all. They hit the post twice, with Sandro Tonali and Brahim Diaz being the unlucky players. Theo Hernandez was all over the pitch, trying to create chances and taking some on himself. Overall, it simply wasn’t good enough. Travelling fans got that dark, sinking feeling when Spezia got a goal in the 77^th. The tide had been turning, and the new wave became too strong to push back against when Salvatore Esposito hit a brilliant free kick in the 85^th minute.

AC Milan are fifth in Serie A with 61 points, four behind Lazio with three matches to play. They’ve scored a grand total of four goals in their last five games and have been shut out twice in a row.