An eagerly-anticipated Champions League contest will take place

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An eagerly-anticipated Champions League contest will take place at San Siro on Wednesday night, when Scudetto holders Inter Milan play host to six-time European champions Liverpool for the first leg of their last-16 tie. The Reds were one of three teams in this year’s competition who completed the group stage with a 100% record, while the Nerazzurri finished second behind Real Madrid.

Many neutrals will be thanking the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16 re-draw that took place, as a mouthwatering affair between two of the continent’s giants now awaits when Inter Milan take on Liverpool. The hosts of the first leg and Group D runners-up Inter come into this match as underdogs despite losing only one of their last 11 matches (W8, D2), while only allowing their opposition to score 2+ goals in a match twice in that run.

Making their first appearance in the UCL Round of 16 since 2011/12, Inter will face English opposition at this stage of the competition under the current UCL format for the fourth time, securing progression only once in their previous three attempts. One of those failures was against Liverpool in 2007/08, losing 3-0 on aggregate after losing both legs.

Inter will be hoping home ground advantage pays dividends here after losing only once at home in their 12 league matches this season (W9, D2), scoring the first goal on ten occasions. But Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool won’t be intimidated, having already left the San Siro with a win this season after beating AC Milan in the group stage.

That game rounded off the ‘Reds’ winning all of their Group B matches, with all but one game seeing 2+ goals scored during the first half, and they now head into this encounter on the back of six straight domestic wins. Obviously in great form, they’ll travel with confidence, and in the knowledge that facing Italian opposition in the UCL knockouts has served them well historically, losing only two of their seven such games (W4, D1), while keeping clean sheets on two of the three occasions they’ve played away in a two-legged tie.

Date: 16/02/2022
Time: 23:00
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan)
Pick for this match:
” 2 ” – @ 2.12 ( BETWINNER )