Benfica – Inter

The Portuguese club will play better than their rivals at home

Benfica have been unbeaten for a long time this season, with a level of play that is not typical of teams from outside the top-five European championships. This was reflected in a strong performance on both the domestic and European stages. In the group stage, the Eagles were not only the creators of Juventus' humiliation, but also beat PSG to first place. At the start of the play-offs, Benfica beat Brugge in class, without experiencing difficulties in any of their matches. Inter also edged out top club Barcelona in the group stage. In the 1/8 finals, the Italian side narrowly defeated a less dangerous Portuguese side by today's standards. On home soil, Inter scored a powerplay goal against Porto, their only goal of the two meetings. Before the clubs' first meeting in Lisbon, bookmakers see the home side as favourites with odds of 2.14 to win. Benfica have paid a lot of attention to their preparations for the Champions League quarter-final clash. Even the league game against Porto, which they lost 1-2, was sacrificed for the sake of the upcoming game. At the same time, the Eagles can afford such a luxury, because even after the defeat they are leading the table with a seven-point gap to their rivals. Prior to the meeting with Porto, Benfica had eight consecutive wins, including six in the Liga Primera and two in the Champions League. Inter have been overshadowed by Napoli on the domestic scene this season and their level of play has waned in the last couple of months. Simone Inzaghi's side have only managed to beat modest Lecce at home in eight meetings since the end of February. The final straw in the Milan club's deteriorating form came in Friday's meeting with Salernitana. Inter were 1-0 up on the away side, but Candreva's phenomenal strike in the 90th minute led to another loss for the Blues. They were also relegated from the Champions League in Serie A, relegated to fifth place. Obviously, the visitors' mood before entering the Lisbon pitch will not be the best. Benfica have not lost to anyone in the Champions League this season. That is unlikely to be the case next Tuesday.