We have reached the quarter final stage of the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League. There are two matches taking place on the 10th of August, one of which is between Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. Due to the change in the format of the Europa League this season, this will be a one off game played at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf.
Inter Milan come into the match having defeated Getafe 2-0 in their Round of 16 match. Due to the fact the first leg of this tie was not played before the coronavirus pandemic, it was played as a one off game at the Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring with a well taken goal in the 33rd minute and substitute Christian Eriksen sealed the deal with a goal in the 83rd minute.
Inter Milan know they have a place in the Champions League next season as they finished second in the Italian Serie A. They enjoyed a good finish to their campaign and Inter Milan have lost only one of their last 15 matches in all competitions since the resumption of football in Italy.
Trends show Inter Milan have won 5 of their last 7 Europa League games, winning 3 of their last 6 by 2 or more goals. They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last 5 matches in all competitions and have scored 2 or more goals in their last 4 games.
🗣️ | INTERVISTA"Quando subentri devi provare a lasciare un segno". Riascoltiamo le parole di @ChrisEriksen8 a @Inter_TV dopo #InterGetafe 👇 pic.twitter.com/iJRQOodcpC— Inter (@Inter) August 6, 2020
🗣️ | INTERVISTA"Quando subentri devi provare a lasciare un segno". Riascoltiamo le parole di @ChrisEriksen8 a @Inter_TV dopo #InterGetafe 👇 pic.twitter.com/iJRQOodcpC
Bayer Leverkusen played the second leg of their Round of 16 tie against Rangers at home and won the match 1-0. The Bundesliga club were already 3-1 up from the first leg in Scotland and did not need to overly exert themselves to reach this stage of the competition. However, Bayer Leverkusen will be keen to win the Europa League, not only for the trophy but to qualify for the Champions League next season.
They suffered a disappointing end to their Bundesliga campaign and dropped points at Schalke and Hertha Berlin saw them finish in 5th place, two points adrift of the top four.
Trends show Bayer Leverkusen are difficult to beat in the Europa League and they are undefeated in their last 9 games in the competition. They have managed to win each of their last 4 Europa League matches and have scored at least 2 goals in 5 of their 6 most recent away games.
Looking ahead to the team news and Inter Milan will be without Matias Vecino who is injured. He is the only player unavailable for Antonio Conte who may stick to the same starting XI from the previous match.
Bayer Leverkusen also have the one injury concern and Brazilian Paulinho will miss out due to a knee injury. If they were to lose this game, it could be the last for Kai Havertz who is being linked with a move to Chelsea.
This could be the most exciting of the Europa League quarter finals in terms of goals. We expect to see both teams finding the back of the net in a high scoring match. However, choosing a winner is not easy and this game could go into extra time with the possibility of penalties.