ONE of the standout fixtures from the opening set of Champions League group stage matches takes place at the San Siro on Wednesday night, as Inter Milan meet Bayern Munich.
Last season Inter reached the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in a decade, where they were eliminated by eventual runners-up Liverpool.
While hopes are high of progressing to the latter stages of the competition again this time around, the Italian giants will have a difficult task qualifying from what has been billed as a potential ‘group of death', where they will come up against Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzeň.
Simone Inzaghi' and his players' preparations for this showdown were far from ideal, as they were on the wrong end of a 3-2 reverse to arch-rivals AC Milan on Saturday.
As for Bayern Munich, they have exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in each of the last two two seasons following their 2019-20 triumph.
What's more, Julian Nagelsmann’s men have not quite been there all-conquering selves in the early weeks of the Bundesliga season, winning three and drawing two of their opening five fixtures.
Outright Betting
Inter Milan have fallen to defeat in each of their previous three home matches with Bayern Munich and the bookies' odds suggest that trend will continue, with the hosts 13/4 (UniBet) underdogs while a San Siro stalemate can be backed at 3/1 (UniBet) with the same firm.
Bayern Munich, who won each of their six group stage fixtures last season, make the trip to Milan as odds-on 5/6 favourites with PaddyPower.
Betting Angles
Goals are usually a given when Bayern Munich are involved and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here with Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals appealing at 4/5 (SportNation).
A sizeable 14 of Bayern's last 20 Champions League fixtures have featured three goals or more, with both sides getting in on the act in 12 matches across that sequence.
It's also worth pointing out that the German giants have scored at least once in 30 of their last 31 Champions League matches, delivering multiple strikes in a whopping 25 games from that sample.
That being said, Bayern are prone to defensive lapses, with FC Hollywood failing to shut out their opponents in three of their five outings this season so far, as well six of their last seven continental clashes.
Given that Inter Milan possess plenty of good attacking weapons within their own armoury, I suspect the visitors could struggle to keep their talented Italian hosts at bay.
With all this in mind, partnering up both teams to score and over 2.5 goals holds obvious appeal on Wednesday night at 4/5 with SportNation.
Considering that Bayern Munich fixtures frequently produce the goods in terms of goalmouth action and penalty area drama, I'll also side with over 9.5 match corners at 17/20 (UniBet).
All five of the Bavarians' Bundesliga games this season so far have featured a minimum of 10 flag kicks and I see no reason to oppose a repeat here given that we have all the necessary ingredients required for a goal-heavy game.
This UEFA Champions League match between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich will be played on Sep 7, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
