CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING PICK - INTER MILAN V MANCHESTER UNITED

Champions League

2009-02-24 - Inter Milan vs Manchester United

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Inter Milan

Jose Mourinho would have been looking forward to this tie for some time now and will be glad his side comes into the match with some confidence behind them. Inter are controlling Serie A with their 18-5-2 record which gives them a 9 point lead over Juventus. At the San Siro they are 9-3-0 with 18 goals scored and only 8 conceded.

Inter qualified for this stage of the Champions League by finishing a surprising 2nd in their group. They ended with a 1-1-1 record at home in a group containing Anorthosis from Cyprus, Panathinaikos from Greece and Werder Bremen from Germany.

Mourinho's side have gone on a 7 game unbeaten run since losing at Atlanta and have managed to win 6 of those games including the Milan Derby. They have an 8 game unbeaten run at the San Siro since losing to Panathinaikos and they have won 6 of those games.

Walter Samuel is likely to be missing for the Italian side after missing out at the weekend, and Marco Materrazzi is also looking doubtful.

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson's side took another huge step to winning the Premier League title for the 3rd year in a row this weekend after their nearest rival Liverpool slipped up at Anfield again. United have a 7 point lead over the rest of the table after compiling a 19-5-2 record. United are 7-4-2 away from home but will know they lost at other big 4 clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal and managed a draw at Chelsea.

United won their group containing Villarreal, Celtic and Aalborg but will be disappointed that they only managed to win 2 of their 6 games while drawing the other 4. United went 1-2-0 away from home, winning in Aalborg.

United are riding an 11 game winning run in all competitions and have won 16 of their last 17 games. They have only conceded 9 goals in their 17 games. An issue for United to address will be the fact that they have only won 1 of their last 4 away games in the Champions League. However, it must also be noted that United are unbeaten in their last 19 Champions League fixtures.

Nemanja Vidic is suspended and Jonny Evans is injured meaning that United are struggling at centre back. Either John O'Shea will recover from injury and take his place there or United will really have to risk an option in there. Gary Neville and Wes Brown are also likely to be missing. Edwin Van der Sar should return in goal.

Head to Head

Inter and United have not met since 1999. On that occasion it was a Quarter Final between the sides in this competition which United won through 3-1 on aggregate. The game in the San Siro ended 1-1.

An interesting point in this match is the return match between Mourinho and Ferguson. Mourinho has a very strong record against the United manager and has only been beaten 1 time from 12 matches between the 2 managers. This covers Mourinho's time at Porto and Chelsea.

Prediction

Inter will want to erase the memories of their disappointing defeat to Liverpool at this stage last season. Their defending will have to improve if they are to come through this tie but the ever dangerous Zlaten Ibrahimovic is an enigma that can be a match winner at any given time.

Manchester United are also having issues with personnel in the defensive part of the field but will feel they can score anywhere. Confidence is high in the side. However, United's recent away form in Europe and against the other big 4 sides in England will be a concern.

This is one of the most intriguing games of the round and should be nerve-wracking to watch. I do not expect to see a really open game, especially during the 1st leg but United will be desperate to take away goals back to Old Trafford. Inter may also feel that this is their best time to score against United who will miss their defensive leader Vidic.

I can see United coming back to England with a goal but I think this game will end up as a draw.

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