INTER MILAN have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after a brilliant win in Lisbon and will be confident of finishing the job when Benfica pitch up for a San Siro salvage operation.
I fancied the Portuguese leaders to win the first leg but Simone Inzaghi's side triumphed 2-0 at the Estadio Da Luz, with Romelu Lukaku netting the clincher as two of my other bets came up that night.
That followed up another battling victory over Porto in the last 16 and Internazionale are now hot favourites to march on as they chase a first Champions League triumph since Jose Mourinho delivered a treble in 2010.
There's no chance of Inzaghi matching Mourinho's impressive haul that season with Inter Milan sitting a lowly fifth in Serie A but his side have saved their best performances for Europe this season.
Benfica had also been lighting up the Champions League before that loss to Inter, with the Eagles unbeaten on their march to the last eight after topping a group that included PSG and Juventus.
Roger Schmidt's side top the table in Portugal as well but they've hit a slump at the wrong time, with a shock weekend loss to Chaves making it three successive defeats in all competitions.
It will be a tall order turning this tie around but if they manage to score first in Milan then the self-belief could come back and Inter would be forced to sweat.
How the bookies view it
Inter Milan are red-hot favourites to qualify at a best 1/16 with VBet while Benfica are as big as 11/1 at BoyleSports. The Eagles are shorter at 29/11 (VBet) for a win on the night while Izaghi's side are 6/5 with Unibet and the draw pays 11/4 at Betfred.
Head to head
Benfica still haven't beaten Inter Milan, suffering three defeats and picking up a solitary draw. It was a thriller when they last pitched up at the San Siro, with the Italian side edging a 4-3 win in the 2004 UEFA Cup.
Players to watch
Lautaro Martinez was rested by Izaghi at the weekend but it backfired as Inter Milan crashed to a shock home defeat against Monza. The Argentinian should be restored to the starting line up here and he's 15/8 at William Hill for anytime scorer.
Goncalo Ramos should lead the line for Benfica again and the 21-year-old will be looking to add to his 28-goal haul for club and country this term. He's 5/2 at Bet365 for anytime scorer and Unibet have him at 4/6 just to have shot on target.
Anything else catch the eye?
Benfica have no option but to attack so it bodes well for an open game, although the tie will be killed stone dead if Inter Milan score first. I fancy over 2.5 goals at 10/11 with Unibet while BTTS is shorter at 4/5 with William Hill.
We only saw three yellow cards in the first leg but this one could be a bit more feisty as Benfica have nothing to lose. I like the look of over 2.5 Benfica cards at 27/20 with Unibet who also price the Portuguese side at a tempting 6/4 to pick up most cards.
Backing Inter Milan in the corner handicap paid off for me in the first leg so I'm revisiting that bet here, with Inter -1 priced 11/8 at BetVictor.
Unibet always have interesting stat bets and I'm drawn to the 7/5 on offer for Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan to have a shot on target.
This UEFA Champions League match between Inter Milan and Benfica will be played on Apr 19, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Inter Milan vs Benfica prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
