Inter Milan vs. Benfica Betting Tips: Back fouls at the San Siro on Wednesday

The remaining Champions League quarter-final second legs take place on Wednesday evening with Inter Milan welcoming Benfica to the San Siro. We’ve once again called on Anthony Eadson to provide us with his best bets.

One foot in the semi-finals may be a step too far here, but Inter have given themselves every chance of reaching the final-four of the Champions League after a 2-0 away win at Benfica last week. Should they see off the Portuguese outfit on home soil, they would then face city rivals AC Milan or Napoli in the semi finals.

Benfica were well fancied in the betting markets to take something from the first leg and will be disappointed with their showing that saw them concede second half goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku.

Taking a look at the match result odds for Wednesday’s tie and the hosts can be backed at 11/10 to get the win in 90 minutes. The draw is on show at 5/2, with a win for Benfica priced at 12/5. In terms of qualification, Inter are just 1/20 with bet365 and other betting sites to advance to the final four, while Benfica are not well fancied to turn the tie around at 10/1.

The first of two picks on Wednesday is for Inter Milan to give away 14 or more fouls in the match. This is available on both Paddy Power and Betfair and can be found in the ‘Stats Specials’ section priced at 6/4.

Inter’s league campaign has been disappointing and the Champions League is their main priority right now. I expect them to use all the dark arts to see themselves through this tie and I’m expecting a high foul count.

This bet has landed in three of their Champions League matches this season, with 15 fouls conceded away at Barcelona in the group stage, before In the Round of 16, they gave away 15 in the first leg against Porto, followed by a whopping 18 in the second leg. Unibet have 13+ fouls priced at 11/10, and I make the 6/4 about 14 or more with Paddy Power a value play here.

I’ve also had a couple of quid on two players to be carded in the match. Nicolas Otamendi and Marcelo Brozovic are the players on the radar with 15/2 on show with Unibet for the pair to find their way into the book.

That price may look a little short on first glance, but as usual with second legs in the Champions League knockout stage, card totals can often be much higher. Furthermore Antonio Mateu Lahoz will be the man in charge at the San Siro and he is averaging a healthy 4.5 cards per game this season.

No player has collected more cautions for Inter this season than Brozovic. The midfielder has eight to his name in just 20 appearances in Serie A, with eight of those appearances being as a substitute. 

When it comes to Otamendi, the former Manchester City man has seven yellows and a red to his name in the league this season and a further three in the Champions League. Again, no player has collected more this season for Benfica and with a place in the semis on the line I expect Lahoz to be a very busy man.