Champions League preview: Inter vs Liverpool, RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
Inter vs Liverpool
Liverpool won all their group stage games to land their place in the last 16 here – and current domestic form suggests the side could extend that impressive Champions League run this week.
Can Jurgen Klopp’s team secure the away win at the San Siro? Well, they did so on their last visit, overcoming AC Milan 2-1 back in December.
Internazionale won three of their group stage matches and Simeone Inzaghi will surely view this visit with trepidation. More positively, this is the first time Inter have reached the last 16 in a decade.
Inzaghi’s team are currently second in Serie A, just a point behind leaders AC Milan. But inauspiciously for the hosts, they’ve only mustered one win in their last four league outings.
Premier League veterans Alexis Sanchez and Edin Dzeko will be hoping to make their mark against Liverpool; Sanchez is 5/2 to find the net, with Dzeko available at 21/10. And Liverpool did concede in each of their away games in the group stage.
For the Reds, Diogo Jota was restricted to a substitute appearance against Burnley at the weekend but could figure here, having scored five goals in his four appearances prior to the trip to Turf Moor.
Mo Salah already has seven Champions League goals in this campaign though, so it’s hard not to fancy the Egyptian King to be in the thick of things once more. Salah is 6/5 to score, with Jota a 17/10 shot. Liverpool are evens to win, and could have too much for the Italian side.
RB Salzburg vs Bayern Munich
Like Liverpool, Bayern won each of their six group games to get there. Unsurprisingly, the German side seem to be on course for another Bundesliga title, too.
Still, Julian Nagelsmann’s side have had a few wobbles in the league this campaign – not least of which came this weekend just gone, when Bayern conceded three goals in seven minutes against Bochum, who were only promoted to the top flight at the end of last season. Crikey.
Bayern couldn’t mount a stirring comeback and lost that match 4-2 in the end – their second league loss of 2022, with Borussia Monchengladbach also beating the Bavarian club. So should Bayern feel a little concerned about this encounter with scrappy Austrian underdogs RB Salzburg?
History suggests the German team will be sufficiently prepared for this one; Bayern are unbeaten in their last 21 games on the road in this competition.
Matthias Jaissle, Salzburg coach, will look to that Bochum result as proof that Bayern can be beaten – but it’s perhaps more likely that after a duff performance at the weekend, we’ll see a strong reaction at the Red Bull Arena.
That said, Bayern have some legitimate concerns. The side will be without goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, while Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka are also injured. Neuer’s absence in particular could be a factor the hosts look to exploit, particularly after replacement keeper Sven Ulreich conceded four goals on Saturday. Ulreich was between the sticks for the loss against Gladbach in January, too.
If you think the home team can take advantage of a potentially compromised Bayern side, you can get 7/1 on the home win. Bayern are still overwhelming favourites, it should be noted – and why not, with goal machine Robert Lewandowski having amassed 26 goals in the Bundesliga already this season?
The Polish superstar scored twice against Bochum and has 10 goals from his last seven league games. He’s been firing in the Champions League too, with nine goals in the group stage. Lewandowski is just 21/50 to score at any time here, though. An alternative option might be to bank on goals – over 3.5 is available at 19/20.
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