Lautaro Martinez can break the deadlock for Inter (Picture: Getty Images)
Inter Milan were amazing in the first half of last week’s Champions League semi-final, first leg at the San Siro.
The trouble is that they fell a little bit short of perfection, missing enough chances to have made the second leg against local rivals AC Milan irrelevant, and that could prove to be a huge mistake.
Their 2-0 advantage should be enough to see Inter reach the final with Edin Dzeko, scorer of the opening goal last Wednesday, facing the dream prospect of lining up against former club Manchester City in the showpiece decider.
They warmed up for the second leg with a seventh straight victory, a 4-2 win at home to Sassuolo, while AC Milan were beaten 2-0 at relegation-threatened Spezia. The Rossoneri have now won just two of their last eight matches.
It means Inter are up to third in the Serie A standings with Milan stuck in fifth place, four points behind Lazio in fourth and staring at the gloomy possibility of missing out on Champions League football next season.
Inter play host to their landlords this time around and this is unlikely to be one of those occasions when a two-goal advantage is overturned.
Inter celebrate Edin Dzeko’s first-leg goal (Picture: Getty Images)
Lautaro Martinez was on target on Saturday after failing to find the net against Milan and he’s our selection to open the scoring in the second Derby della Madonnina at 9/2 with bet365. He’s also worth investing at 9/5 with BetUK and Unibet to score at any time.
Another 2-0 win for Inter is 17/2 with William Hill in what promises to be a more than satisfying appetiser ahead of the Manchester City v Real Madrid main dish.
• 11/10 Luton to win tonight’s Championship play-off, second leg with Sunderland at Kenilworth Road (Betfred)
• 9/2 Cameron Norrie to cause an upset by beating Novak Djokovic on the clay in Rome (Betway)
MORE : Eduardo Camavinga set to be fit for Real Madrid’s clash against Manchester City
MORE : Inter Milan take control of Champions League semi-final derby against AC Milan
Expect the same again in semi-final showdown.