Champions League
2024-10-23 - Young Boys vs Inter Milan
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 23rd October 2024 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Young Boys
When you are struggling as much as Young Boys are in the Swiss top flight, it is perhaps no surprise that the Champions League has really felt a level too high for the current domestic Champions. Two losses is one thing, but Young Boys have been comprehensively beaten by Aston Villa and Barcelona and this is another tough fixture against one of the top European clubs.
They did compete well for a while against Aston Villa and that might have had something to do with the artificial surface that is used by Young Boys. However, by the end of that 0-3 defeat, Young Boys were very much second best and they were crushed 5-0 at Barcelona on Match Day 2 to leave the team with a mountain to climb already.
Young Boys earned an important 2-1 home win over Luzern this past weekend, but they had lost 4 of 5 in all competitions heading into the October international break. The side had lost 2 in a row at home before the win over Luzern, while Young Boys have lost 4 of their last 8 in front of their own fans in the Champions League.
Joel Magnin is the caretaker manager of Young Boys after Patrick Rahmen was Sacked. He is already changing the personnel of the team to put his own stamp on things.
Inter Milan
So many tipped up Inter Milan to go one better than 2023 in the Champions League last time around and so their Last 16 defeat to Atletico Madrid felt particularly disappointing. Winning Serie A will have had the fans feeling happier over the summer, but Inter Milan will want to have a much bigger impact in the top UEFA competition this time around.
The fixture list handed out to Inter Milan looked tough, but the draw at Manchester City before a crushing home win over Crvena Zvezda will have just given the team the confidence to push for a top eight finish. To do that, Inter Milan will not want to drop points before a tough little run where the side have to play Arsenal, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.
Inter Milan conceded in the 89th minute in a loss to rivals AC Milan, but have bounced back to win 4 in a row in all competitions, including a 0-1 win at Roma this weekend. That result means Inter Milan are unbeaten in 7 away games in all competitions and they have won 2 in a row on their travels.
Francesco Acerbi and Hakan Calhanoglu both picked up knocks against Roma and may not be available before the big game against Juventus coming up.
Head to Head
This is the first competitive fixture between Young Boys and Inter Milan.
Prediction
The biggest test for teams visiting Young Boys is playing on this artificial surface and it has taken some top teams a bit of time to get themselves comfortable.
Eventually the quality has been able to shine through and the likes of Leipzig, Manchester City and Aston Villa have won well at Young Boys over the last twelve months.
Inter Milan are certainly capable of securing a relatively comfortable win as long as they are focused and not thinking ahead to the big rivalry fixture against Juventus. With games coming up against Arsenal, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, Inter Milan should be keen to ensure they pick up three points here and just stay in touch with the top eight places.
Young Boys are back under the management of Joel Magnin and the players responded with a win over Luzern, but this is a team that has struggled through the first couple of months.
Defensively they have really found it challenging against elite European attacks and Inter Milan should have enough to win by at least two goals.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Young Boys 0-3 Inter Milan
