Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk to play cagey Europa League semifinal
Inter Milano vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 17/08/2020
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Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan usurped Europa League rival Manchester United as leading sportsbooks’ favourite to win the tournament after their 2-1 quarterfinal win versus Bayer Leverkusen.
Now, the Nerazzurri take on Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in the semifinals of the Europa League on Monday night. Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk will play 24 hours after Sevilla clash with Manchester United.
The clubs are just two wins away from lifting a major European trophy. Inter Milan have not won a European trophy in a decade. Jose Mourinho’s Nerazzurri won the treble in 2009-10 but since that success, trophies have been few and far between.
Conte’s team came through the quarterfinals with an impressive 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen thanks to goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku has scored in each of his last three games in the Europa League.
The Belgian is good value to get on the scoresheet again and bully Shakhtar Donetsk’s defence. The Ukrainians do not play strikers like Lukaku on the domestic front and it will be difficult for the Miners to stop the No. 9.
Shakhtar Donetsk overcame Wolfsburg in the round of 16 and FC Basel in the quarterfinals. The Miners thrashed FC Basel 4-1, but thanks to weak knockout stage opponents, they will have a difficult time against Inter Milan.
Conte may be without attacking midfielder Alexis Sanchez. The creative player picked up a muscle strain versus Bayer Leverkusen and will be a game-time decision.
Inter Milan are a strong defensive team. They will need to focus on stopping Shakhtar Donetsk forward Junior Moraes. The forward has scored four goals in his last three Europa League matches. He is Shakhtar Donetsk’s most prolific goalscorer. He has scored 26 goals in 41 games this term.
The Nerazzurri concede an average of 0.98 goals per game in all competitions. Meanwhile, they average 2.04 goals scored. Nineteen Inter Milan matches in all competitions have finished with under 2.5 goals scored in 2019-20.
Monday night’s game in Dusseldorf should see Inter Milan put in another strong defensive performance. Shakhtar Donetsk will have few clear-cut chances as Inter Milan win in regular time to progress to the Europa League final.
Both clubs started their seasons playing in the Champions League group stage. They dropped into the Europa League and now find themselves on the verge of winning silverware.
The Nerazzurri should be too good on the day and progress to play their first European tournament final since 2010’s Champions League final match versus Bayern Munich. Expect under 2.5 goals as Inter Milan win to nil.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UEL
621721
1
1 - 0
2.27
24°
1.60
1.60
4.30
5.50
-1
1
1
5 - 0(1 - 0)
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