Inter Milan vs. RB Leipzig: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Inter Milan take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League this week with the visitors in dire need of a win.

• Date: 26/11/2024
• Kick-off time: 20:00
• Location: San Siro, Milan

Inter currently sit 5th in the Champions League with ten points from four games. It's been a strong campaign from the 2022-23 finalists who look well on their way to securing automatic progression to the knockout phase of this competition. A draw with Manchester City and wins over Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys and Arsenal have put Inter in a strong position, so a win here will likely mean one foot in the knockout stages for the Italian giants.

Performance-wise, Inter haven't looked as strong as they have in the last two seasons, which is of little surprise given there were few resources made available to strengthen the squad in the summer. Inter have tonnes of quality, but the squad is ageing somewhat and it arguably needs an injection of youthful attacking inspiration.

There is, then, doubts over how far this side can go this year, which is a shame from their perspective because many of Europe's more dominant sides are waning, and the pathway for a leftfield winner has never been more clear. The Inter side of two seasons ago would've been strong, strong contenders to win the trophy this season.

Still, Inter are extremely flexible tactically and can, and probably will, still give any side a tough game in this competition. Another win here would be very good for their momentum and they're the clear favourites to get the three points.

RB Leipzig are currently 32nd in the Champions League table with no points from four games. RB Leipzig's opening fixtures in this competition have been a disaster, with he Bundesliga club currently at serious risk of failing to qualify for the knockout stages. Leipzig are currently well outside of the playoff places, sitting five points shy of PSV in 24th, so they may well need to win all of their remaining games just to secure a playoff spot.

Leipzig's Champions League form is a bit of a mystery given how good they've been in the Bundesliga, where Marco Rose's side sit 3rd in the league table. Teams failing to replicate their league form in the Champions League is not novel, and they've had a very tough fixture list, but defeat to Celtic in their last game was a real head-scratcher in particular.

The German side still have time to turn things around, but with their remaining fixtures against Inter, Aston Villa, Sporting CP and Sturm Graz, it feels very doubtful that Leipzig will secure a playoff spot. it would be quite a disaster for a club that regularly invests heavy sums in its team and has made the knockout stages in both of the last two seasons, so they'll need to make up for it with their league performance.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 5.

Inter Milan Team News:

Inter have a pretty clean bill of health coming into this game, with Hakan Çalhanoğlu the only likely absentee with a hip problem.

Lautaro Martínez is also a doubt with a virus, so Mehdi Taremi could start in his absence.

Predicted lineup: Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Taremi.

RB Leipzig Team News:

The Bundesliga club are without Xavi Simons, David Raum, Eljif Elmas, El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Yussuf Poulsen.

A couple of changes could be on the cards for this one after a disappointing result at the weekend, with Amadou Haidara and Nicolas Seiwald both pushing to come back into the midfield.

Predicted lineup: Gulacsi; Klostermann, Orban, Lukeba; Henrichs, Haidara, Seiwald, Nusa; Baumgartner; Openda, Šeško.

Inter's form is strong coming into this one, with Simone Inzaghi's men having won five and drawn one of their last five outings. At the weekend, Inter hammered Hellas Verona 5-0 thanks to goals from Joaquín Correa, Marcus Thuram (X2), Stefan de Vrij and Yan Bissek.

Prior to that, Inter drew 1-1 with Napoli after Hakan Çalhanoğlu netted a first half equaliser, a result that followed a 1-0 win over Arsenal courtesy of a Çalhanoğlu penalty in a game where they were largelt second best.

Those results were preceded by a 1-0 win over Venezia through a Lautaro Martínez goal, which came after a 3-0 win over a ten man Empoli side through a Davide Frattesi goal and another from Martínez.

Leipzig are in really poor shape ahead of this game with just one win from their last five games and no wins from their last four. Leipzig's most recent encounter was a frustrating 4-3 win at Hoffenheim, where despite leading 3-2 with ten minutes remaining, they ultimately fell to a defeat.

Prior to that, they drew 0-0 with Borussia Monchengladbach, which came after a very disappointing 3-1 loss at Celtic and a 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

Before that, Leipzig beat St. Pauli 4-2, with the goals coming from Yussuf Poulsen (X2), Christoph Baumgartner and Antonio Nusa.

It's hard to see Leipzig winning this one. Inter have won four and drawn one of their last five, while Leipzig have drawn one and lost three of their last four. Inter have lost only one game at home in 2024, in fact, so it would take a huge performance from a Leipzig side that have lost all four in the Champions League to get a result here.

Both teams to score has occurred in three of Inter's last four home games and four of Leipzig's last five altogether, so we do expect both sides to register on the scoresheet in what should ultimately be an Inter Milan win. Inter 2-1 RB Leipzig.

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