Inter Milan will get their Club World Cup campaign underway in the early hours of Wednesday morning when they take on Monterrey in California.
After losing the UEFA Champions League final 5-0 at the end of the 2024/25 season, Inter will be desperate to put in a good showing at the tournament, and they have been given a nice start on paper.
Monterrey have left their domestic league in Mexico in seventh position to play in this tournament, and should be considered huge underdogs.
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How the bookies view it: Inter go in as heavy favourites
Unsurprisingly, the bookies are favouring the European side for this one, but they aren't as short as you might expect. BoyleSports have priced an Inter Milan victory at 11/20, while a win for Monterrey has been priced at 17/4. The draw, which would be a great start for the Mexican side, has been priced at 10/3.
Head to head: A first-ever meeting
Given that these two teams play on different sides of the world and would never normally come up against each other, it will come as a surprise to nobody that this is the first-ever clash between Monterrey and Inter Milan.
Players to watch: Scarred stars to begin to put things rights
There will be plenty of bruised egos in the Inter Milan camp after their humbling in the Champions League final just a couple of weeks ago but a match against weaker opposition does provide them with an opportunity to pick themselves up and start to look forward.
The two obvious names who will want to make amends are Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram. In truth, neither man was in the game against PSG in Munich, and while much of that can be put down to the PSG domination in midfield, at some point, you would like your best players to make themselves involved.
During the 2024/25 season, Martinez had his worst season in an Inter shirt from a goalscoring perspective. The Argentinian only managed 12 goals in Serie A, ending a streak of three consecutive seasons of surpassing the 20-goal marker.
Thuram, on the other hand, played to his average. He managed 14 league goals, one up on the tally he managed in his debut season at the club.
Predicted line-ups
Inter Milan will be without some key players from last season's squad after Joaquin Correa and Marko Arnautovic both left on free transfers following the season's conclusion. Fellow striker, Mehdi Taremi, is stuck in Iran, meaning Martinez and Thuram are the only two forwards available to Cristian Chivu.
There are a few familiar faces in the Monterrey ranks. Sergio Canales, Lucas Ocampos and Sergio Ramos will all be doing their utmost to stun Inter.
Monterrey: Andrada – Medina, Rodriguez, Ramos, Arteaga – Chavez, Ambriz – Torres, Canales, Corona – Berterame
Inter Milan: Sommer – Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni – Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Sucic, Barella, Dimarco – Thuram, Martinez
Anything else catch the eye?
Prior to the Champions League final, Inter Milan had actually been scoring goals at a decent rate. The Nerazzurri had been on a run of four games where they had scored two or more goals in each one. Inter Milan to score over 2.5 goals against Monterrey has been priced at 7/4 by BoyleSports.
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