The UEFA Champions League semis start this Tuesday and Wednesday. The pairs are Real Madrid VS Manchester City and AC Milan VS Inter Milan, each spectacular in its unique way.
We’ve seen these rivals meeting at this stage, Real and Man City last season, while two Milan rivals played in 2005. Both of those matchups were epic.
Over the following few paragraphs, we bring the preview, odds, and picks for these events, so stay tuned.
Down to the final four 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/GBDmKjgN3m
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 8, 2023
Real Madrid VS Manchester City Preview
The Los Blancos defeated Osasuna this Saturday night in the finals of the Spanish Cup, 2-1. The scorer for the team from Madrid was Rodrygo, who was the one who eliminated Man City last year in the semis. The Brazilian delivered two goals in less than two minutes, both in stoppage time.
Of the last seven games at home, Real has won six, and they are in excellent shape. The same number of events during that span saw them scoring two or more goals. Benzema is fit, Vinicius lethal, and all the others are jumping in to fill in the goalscoring column frequently.
On the other side, City’s form is even more impressive because the English champs are without a defeat in the previous 21 events. In 18, we’ve seen them beating the rivals, which is outstanding.
The offense led by Haaland is in fantastic shape, and they score two or more goals in almost all the games, of course, with the Norwegian leading the way. The defense, however, kept only two clean sheets in the last seven appearances.
This event should be interesting and filled with goals. Last year we saw 11 hits in two events between these two units, and we strongly believe that the same is about to happen. There is a lot of quality on the offensive side in each team, and even though it is the same in the respective back lines, simply, the defenses aren’t in focus here. So, our pick is over 2.5 goals, with both teams netting.
Pick: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals 3/4 at BetXchange
AC Milan vs. Inter Milan
The Italian titans met at this stage 18 years ago, with the infamous pyro and the legendary photo with Materazzi and Rui Costa in it. This is clear proof that history has its cycles and that, periodically, everything repeats.
AC Milan struggled to get things going throughout most of the season, and even now, Stefano Pioli’s crew isn’t constant. But in the Champions League games, they are outstanding. Yes, Milan isn’t playing attractive and efficient football but is very rational and disciplined when it comes to the tactical aspect of the game plan.
Low efficiency is something constant in Milan’s performances. The latest seven events this unit played saw under 2.5 scores. Rosonerri are without a defeat in the recent eight contests, but they have five draws during that span.
Inter is on fire, with Nerazzurri winning the previous four events, scoring 13 goals combined during that rampage. Following a streak of mixed and mediocre results, Simone Inzaghi’s crew has managed to get back on the right path, reaching the finals of the Italian Cup and the UCL semis.
With the strikers waking up, everything is much easier, and the victory over Verona this weekend, 0-6, was a display of Inter’s quality even though the rivals weren’t some high-caliber challenge.
Milan will wait for the rival, and on the other hand, we don’t expect to see Inzaghi setting up an offensive game plan, despite the recent developments. Under 2.5 goals is the first pick, because neither team wants to risk anything in the opening 90 minutes.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals 2/3 at BetXchange
