Preview
Liverpool will be looking to finish the job when they welcome Inter Milan for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are in pole position to reach the last eight after late goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah gave them a 2-0 win in Italy.
The Reds are in the driver’s seat following a 2-0 first-leg success. As for the Nerazzurri, history is against them as only one team in Champions League history has ever lost the first leg of a knockout stage tie by two or more goals on home and have still gone on to progress.
There is no other formula than a goal-laden performance for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter if they are to have a chance of advancing to the last eight this week, but thankfully for the Nerazzurri boss, his strikers dusted off their best shooting boots for a thrilling warm-up victory over Salernitana. We expect a very exciting match-up with both teams heading into this fixture with lots of confidence.
Form Guide: Liverpool
Having already placed the EFL Cup in their trophy cabinet and successfully booked their tickets to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, the quadruple dream is certainly well and truly alive for the hopeful Anfield faithful, no matter how much Klopp wants to downplay it.
The VAR analysts were out in full force when West Ham United paid a visit to Anfield for Saturday’s Premier League game, with Sadio Mane just about managing to stay onside and tap home from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ball – whether it was a shot, cross or pass only the right-back knows – as Liverpool kept the pressure on leaders Manchester City, who remain six points clear after thrashing Manchester United in the derby.
Victory over the Hammers marked a 12th win on the bounce in all competitions for the ruthless Reds, who could become the first English team ever to win their opening eight games of a single Champions League campaign.
Form Guide: Inter Milan
On the other hand, Inter have won just one of their four matches since, a 5-0 victory over Salernitana on the weekend, and will need to produce a memorable display if they are to produce a huge upset at Anfield.
Having failed to make the net ripple in the top flight since December, Lautaro Martinez emphatically returned to scoring ways with three of his side’s goals in that 5-0 thumping, and a man 11 years his senior in Edin Dzeko completed the rout with a quickfire brace of his own before the 70-minute mark.
How the match could go
The 2-0 win at San Siro marked Liverpool’s third win and third clean sheet on the bounce against Inter in the Champions League, and only performance as clinical as Friday’s will do for the visitors if an astounding Merseyside comeback is to be launched.
Simone Inzaghi has a good attack in Inter, which should give results against strong opponents. But the Milanese have been having problems with the implementation lately. After the defeat by Liverpool, the blue-blacks lost 0:2 to Sassuolo, after which they played twice (in Serie A and in the Italian Cup) with a score of 0:0. Only on March 4, a couple of Martinez – Dzeko forwards broke through, and Inter won 5-0. However, at Anfield the guests are unlikely to run forward so quickly – Liverpool is too dangerous on counterattacks.
Betting Predictions
Liverpool to win
The traveling Nerazzurri faithful will hope to see Martinez in a particular kick on after a confidence-boosting evening in the league, and Liverpool’s defense is certainly not impenetrable.
However, Klopp’s side has been unplayable in the past few weeks and have already gotten the better of Inzaghi’s side at San Siro, so we can only envisage the Reds advancing to the last eight. It’s now 12 wins in a row for Liverpool across all competitions, and though they weren’t at their best in the first leg they still showed how good they can be when they click into gear.
Going to Anfield in Europe is a tough enough assignment for any team, but it’s made even more difficult with Inter having a deficit to make up. Bet9ja have 1.57, 1xbet have 1.60 and Paripesa have 1.60 odds.
Over 2.5 Goals
While we did not see three goals in the first leg between Liverpool and Inter Milan, we were very close to it and we expect the second leg to go over 2.5 total goals, especially with Inter having to overcome a two-goal deficit. Furthermore, Liverpool averaged 3.37 goals per game in the Premier League this season, while Inter Milan averaged 3.04 goals per game in Serie A so far. With Inter Milan needing to score goals so badly the Italian side will have no choice but to really go for it at some point, though that will leave space for Liverpool to ruthlessly exploit. Bet9ja have 1.60 odds, Paripesa have 1.68, and 1xbet have 1.68.
Anytime Goalscorer (Inter Milan)
Lautaro
The Inter striker has seemingly broken his duck in his last league appearance after failing to score in his previous five fixtures before Lautaro Martínez bagged a hat-trick at the weekend. Inzaghi would surely have some faith has Lautaro has already been the key to his side’s brilliant performances, now that he is past not scoring he would surely try and inspire this side to a memorable comeback victory. Five of his six all-time UCL goals come away from home which would mean an away game here is something he would relish. Bet9ja have 3.55 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.20.
Dzeko
The strike partner of Martinez has been the one shouldering the responsibilities when it comes to goals for this Inter Milan side. Now the pressure seems to be reduced with Martinez hitting the back of the net last weekend. This would give Klopp and his defense something different to think about when facing them today. He would be looked at as less of a threat and this could be a good thing for him to use and slip through the defense unannounced. Bet9ja have 3.75 odds and Paripesa have 4.00 odds for him to score.
Anytime Goalscorer (Liverpool)
Salah
Liverpool have likely the best player on the planet right now. Mohamed Salah has scored 27 goals in his last 33 appearances, a sensational run of production. Champions League games, especially in the knockout stage, do not generally have a ton of goals, so Salah’s seeming ability to score almost at will looms especially large. He is on red hot form and he’ll be replicating his high goal-scoring ability here today. Bet9ja have 2.05 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.00.
Jota
The Portuguese player has been surly rested during the weekend and we expect him to lead the line in today’s fixture as he hasn’t disappointed Klopp when selected. Today, he would be facing the Inter defense with a bit less pressure, which could be dangerous for them. Bet9ja have 2.20 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.20.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
