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Benevento logo
Serie A | Gameweek 1
Sep 30, 2020 at 5pm UK
Stadio Ciro Vigorito
Inter logo

Benevento
2 - 5
Inter Milan

Caprari (34', 76')
Schiattarella (73')
FT(HT: 1-4)
Lukaku (1', 28'), Gagliardini (25'), Hakimi (42'), Martinez (71')

Preview: Benevento vs. Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Serie A clash between Benevento and Inter Milan, including team news and predicted lineups.

Benevento and Inter Milan will both be looking to build on opening-day victories in Serie A when the two sides lock horns on Wednesday at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito.

Benevento's first game back in the top flight saw them beat Sampdoria 3-2, while Inter enjoyed a high-scoring victory of their own as they prevailed 4-3 against Fiorentina.


Match preview

Filippo Inzaghi pictured in charge of Bologna in December 2018© Reuters

When Benevento were promoted back to the big time at the end of last season, many fans would have quickly remembered that fateful 2017-18 campaign where they finished bottom of the pile having lost 29 of their 38 top-flight outings.

Benevento set an unwanted record of 14 straight losses at the start of that campaign, but last season's Serie B champions have already got off to a better start this time round with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Sampdoria on the opening weekend.

Sampdoria stormed into a two-goal lead courtesy of Fabio Quagliarella and Omar Colley, but the defensive contingent of Benevento became heroes at the other end of the pitch as Luca Caldirola bagged a brace before Gaetano Letizia netted the winner in the 88th minute.

Filippo Inzaghi has enjoyed a remarkable first year in the Benevento dugout, and there is certainly a sense of optimism that the legendary striker will be the one to lead Gli Stregoni to top-flight safety and avoid a similar fate to three years ago.

Of course, it is way too early to be talking about potential relegation candidates after just one game, and Benevento will now face a real test against an Inter Milan side with title aspirations for the 2020-21 campaign.

Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte reacts on November 5, 2019© Reuters

Inter's quest for Serie A glory seemed destined to suffer an early setback against Fiorentina, with La Viola 3-2 up heading into the final five minutes of Saturday's fixture.

However, Antonio Conte's men displayed their title credentials with two last-gasp goals to break Fiorentina hearts, with Romelu Lukaku levelling the scores before Danilo D'Ambrosio's 89th-minute header at the far post sent I Nerazzurri into delirium at an empty San Siro.

Conte's defence cannot afford to be breached so freely if Inter are to mount a title charge over the coming months, but the strike partnership of Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez always guarantees goals, and Inter look set to hold on to the latter despite strong interest from Barcelona.

Having finished just one point behind Juventus at the end of last season, and with the champions looking a little shaky over the past couple of months, Inter will look to make a statement of intent on Wednesday before facing off against fellow Scudetto hopefuls Lazio at the weekend.

Inter and Benevento have only met three times down the years, with Inter doing the double over Gli Stregoni in the 2017-18 Serie A campaign before subjecting Benevento to a 6-2 drubbing in the 2018-19 Coppa Italia last 16.

Benevento Serie A form: W

Inter Milan Serie A form: W


Team News

Alexis Sanchez in action for Inter Milan on August 1, 2020© Reuters

Benevento will still be without long-term absentee Nicolas Viola, while Federico Barba, Oliver Kragl and Andres Tello are set to miss out again.

New arrival Gianluca Lapadula will look to spearhead the Benevento attack after being named amongst the substitutes against Sampdoria, but not many changes are expected from the weekend victory.

Meanwhile, Conte has a number of defensive dilemmas to contend with for the midweek showdown, with Stefan de Vrij set to come back into the defence after serving a suspension.

De Vrij is set to take the place of Aleksandar Kolarov in Conte's back three, while Milan Skriniar continues to be linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur and may not start here either.

Achraf Hakimi will hope to be handed his first competitive start in Inter colours on the right-hand side, while Alexis Sanchez and Stefano Sensi are options for Conte with the showdown against Lazio also in his mind.

Benevento possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Letizia, Glik, Caldirola, Foulon; Ionita, Schiattarella, Dabo; Insigne, Lapadula, Caprari

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Brozovic, Sensi, Barella, Young; Sanchez, Lukaku


SM words green background

We say: Benevento 0-3 Inter Milan

Conte will want to avoid any injuries before Sunday's tie with Lazio, and that could come into the Inter manager's thinking when it comes to team selection. Benevento will do their best to pull off an early shock, but even if Conte does make a number of changes for this one, the visitors will have too much quality for the newly-promoted side.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 50.12%. A win for Benevento had a probability of 26.1% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.47%) and 0-2 (8.16%). The likeliest Benevento win was 2-1 (6.57%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.16%). The actual scoreline of 2-5 was predicted with a 0.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Inter Milan would win this match.


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