The second of the Europa League semi finals sees Inter Milan start as favourites for their clash with Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday night.
Inter
Inter booked their semi final place with a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. All the goals came early with Inter racing into a 2-0 lead inside 21 minutes through Barella and Lukaku, Leverkusen quickly got 1 back but there was to be no further scoring. Lukaku's goal set a record as he has now found the net in 9 consecutive Europa League games.
Inter joined the Europa League after failing to make the Champions League knockout rounds and in the Round of 16 Inter beat Getafe 2-0 in a tie settled over 1 leg. Before lockdown they were 4-1 winners on aggregate against Ludogorets. .
In Serie A Inter finished strongly with 6 wins and 2 draws in their last 8 matches but they finished as runners up to Juventus, just 1 point in arrears. With just 36 goals conceded they had the best defensive record in the top flight.
Shakhtar
Shakhtar made it to the last 4 with a convincing 4-1 win over Basel. They led 2-0 at half time and 2 late goals sealed the deal before Basel hit an even later consolation.
Shakhtar also joined the Europa League after failing to make the Champions League knockout rounds. They came through a Round of 32 clash with Benfica to go through 5-4 on aggregate before winning both legs of a Round of 16 tie with Wolfsburg for a 5-1 aggregate win.
They dominated Ukraines domestic competition losing just 2 of 32 matches although the strength of that league has to be taken into consideration.
The Betting
Inter are around 15/20 to win in regulation time whist a draw is 29/10 and and Shakhtar are 34/10. A game of 3 goals or more in total is priced at 13/20 and its the same price for both sides to find the net in 90 minutes.
Note all odds quoted are subject to change
The Verdict:
I haven't seen much of Shakhtar to be honest but their quarter final was surprisingly comfortable so they should be competitive but I would still side with Inter given how close they came to the Serie A title and this trophy would be some compensation. However, I'm struggling for inpriation for a betting interest and will offer up no more than a first goalscorer pick with Lukaku the obvious choice.
Semi Final Final Bets
1st Golascorer Lukaku at 37/10
Note all odds quoted are subject to change
GFTG Newsletter
Subscribe to our free weekly betting mailer which will include our best and value bets below.
