Benfica vs Inter Milan | Live Stream
Benfica and Inter Milan go head-to-head at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Wednesday night in the penultimate Champions League group stage game.
Matchday 5 of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage is all set to serve some vital match-ups. One such clash in Group D is Benfica playing hosts to Inter Milan at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, as they aim to salvage some pride in what has been quite a disastrous Champions League campaign.
The Portuguese giants might have carried over the domestic romp from last season this time around and currently sit on top of their league after winning the derby over Sporting CP after two goals in injury time prior to the international break. But the Eagles have struggled to find similar consistency on the European stage.
They have somehow managed to lose all four games, including a 3-1 drumming at the hands of Real Sociedad last time out. Despite this, they can still get Europa League football, although they will need to finally pull something of a surprise against Serie A table-toppers Inter Milan.
The visitors were also involved in a top-of-the-table clash with Juventus on Sunday, when they controlled for long stretches without creating much and had to settle for a 1-1 share of spoils. However, they appear to be serious candidates for the Champions League crown, which they came so close to winning last season.
Having already punched their knockout stage ticket after collecting ten points from their first four Group D appearances, Simone Inzaghi’s side will simply be aiming to make another European statement here.
Benfica and Inter Milan met in the Champions League quarter-finals last term, with the Nerazzurri reaching the final. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Inter Milan will be without Benjamin Pavard on Wednesday night due to a knee injury, while Alessandro Bastoni has also been ruled out with a calf issue. Stefan de Vrij and the versatile Matteo Darmian should continue to deputise in the Nerazzurri’s back three. Simone Inzaghi is also sweating over the fitness of Alexis Sanchez, who picked up an ankle blow during November’s international break.
One thing that looks certain is that Inzaghi will rotate his team against Benfica on Wednesday. The former Lazio head coach used his strongest team against Juventus over the weekend. That was little surprise considering the top-of-the-table Serie A clash.
It doesn’t get much easier for Inter in the league. Inter travel to Naples to face defending champions Napoli next weekend, which is another match that could prove to be decisive for the Nerazzurri’s title chase.
According to local reports, Austrian centre-forward Marko Arnautovic will start upfront for Inter Milan against Benfica, which will allow one of either Lautaro Martinez or Marcus Thuram to catch their breath from the start, the former of whom has scored an impressive 15 goals this season for club and country, including the equaliser against Juventus at the weekend.
Juan Cuadrado returned from a long-running Achilles problem to make a substitute appearance against Juventus. The veteran wing-back could make his first start of the season here, with Denzel Dumfries possibly making way.
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