UEFA Champions League: How to watch Inter Milan vs Benfica live on April 19, 2023

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan, Benfica

Inter Milan will hope to put their Champions League quarter-final tie to bed when they take on Benfica at home on Wednesday.

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg between Inter Milan and Benfica is set to take place at San Siro on Wednesday. The Italian giants currently hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, but they have been far from their best in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Benfica will look to bounce back and secure a remontada and what seems like a 'mission impossible' in Italy.

Hosts Inter Milan will be aiming to make it to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2009/10, and they will look to utilize their home advantage properly. However, their recent form at San Siro has been poor, having lost three consecutive matches by a 1-0 scoreline against Juventus, Fiorentina, and Monza.

The struggles of Simeoni Inzaghi's side has seen them take just one point from their last five matches. They currently sit fifth in the standings, two points behind fourth-placed AC Milan. Howewver, despite their struggles in the league, knockout competitions have been Inter's speciality this season, having also reached the semifinals of the Coppa Italia.

In the Champions League, the defense of the Nerazzurri has been their saving grace this season, as they managed to ride their luck against Porto in the previous round despite being under pressure for most of the tie. It is worth noting that in the case where the Serie A outfit have won the first leg of a European knockout tie by at least a two-goal margin nine times, they have never been knocked out from this position.

The omen is also seemingly in their favor as they are unbeaten in all four of their previous matches against Benfica in all competitions and have kept clean sheets in three of these matches. The previous meeting between the two sides at San Siro in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup in 2004 ended in a 4-3 victory for Inter Milan. Needless to say, the Portuguese club will aim to change the narrative this time around considering the stakes.

Indeed, the Eagles have a rather tall mountain to climb after their disappointing first-leg defeat. While they had the best chances and possession, they failed to convert their opportunities and had to pay the price. At San Siro, they will have to come out on the front foot if they are to have any chance of progressing to the semifinals.

However, Benfica's recent form away from home against Italian opponents in European competitions has been poor, and does not give the indication that they will succeed against Inter. They come into the clash having been winless in all six matches before their victory against Juventus this season. Their mission is further complicated by the fact that when they have lost the first leg of a European knockout tie by at least a two-goal margin, they have largely failed to overturn the deficit. In nine instances in which this happened, they only managed a win in all those ties.

Still, they will be hopeful about their chances and potentially get back to winning ways, having suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Chaves this weekend. The result condemned the Eagles to a third successive defeat across all competitions, a run they will be eager to snap out of as soon as possible.

Form Guide: Inter Milan vs Benfica

Inter Milan Champions League form: DWLWDW
Benfica Champions League form: DWWWWL

Team News: Inter Milan vs Benfica

Inter Milan's defense has taken a hit ahead of their second leg clash with Benfica in the Europa League. Stefan De Vrij suffered an injury in their recent defeat against Monza, while Milan Skriniar continues to be sidelined. Although Inter Milan has no suspensions, they will have to be cautious with Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Edin Dzeko, and Lautaro Martinez as they are all one booking away from suspension.

Meanwhile, Benfica will still miss Julian Draxler, Alexander Bah, and Mihailo Ristic in their upcoming match. However, they welcome back Nicolas Otamendi, who missed the first leg due to suspension. On the other hand, Goncalo Ramos, Florentino, and Joao Mario are all one booking away from suspension if they can miraculously overturn their deficit against Inter Milan.