Overpriced Inter Milan could offer best European bet of the season
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There might not be a 5000/1 shot delivering a league title this season, but Inter Milan could prove to be the next best thing, with I Nerazzurri currently priced at 80/1 to win the Serie A title. Here’s why we think our traders have got it all wrong – and why you should take advantage.
Inter are the form team in Italy right now, winning their last seven in all competitions – including the last five in Serie A.
That’s left them nine points off the summit – but with Juventus and Roma losing in recent weeks, and AC Milan seemingly in freefall, clawing back those points looks to be a manageable task for Stefano Pioli’s men.
One thing they seem able to rely on are home comforts. Inter have now won all of their last six home league games, while they’ve triumphed in nine in a row at the San Siro, in all competitions.
Even more impressively, Inter – currently in sixth place – have enjoyed victories in their last home game against each of the top five: Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Lazio and AC Milan. And they host three of those sides again before the campaign ends.
None of those opponents will fancy facing striker Mauro Icardi, with the 23-year-old currently top of the Serie A goalscoring charts with 15. No other club can boast a player so adept at making the difference when it really matters, as his winning goals in the dying minutes against the likes of Pescara and Torino have proved.
That makes him more useful than other high-scorers at the league’s top sides like Dries Mertens and Edin Dzeko who tend to score in gluts, or else find the net in comfortable wins when the pressure is off.
But Inter also look increasingly solid at the other end. Four clean sheets in their last nine league games is a record which even Juve’s notably stingy defence can’t match, with the Nerazzurri’s shut-out against Lazio one of only two times the capital club have failed to score in their last 16.
Pioli will also be boosted by having funds to spend in January – and he’s already brought in one hugely talented player (albeit on loan). The man in question is Roberto Gagliardini, and the robust midfield powerhouse is already adding steel to a midfield containing the flair of Joao Mario and Ever Banega, amongst others.
Inter have some huge games coming up in Serie A – with clashes against Lazio and Juve arriving within the next three weeks – but those fixtures have come at the perfect time for Pioli’s side. They’re enjoying a sensational run of form, while Le Aquile and the Old Lady have both endured defeat in one of their last three apiece.
All that means Inter Milan look to be priced ridiculously high at 80/1 to win a 19th Serie A title.
Next up for the Nerrazzurri is a trip to Palermo on Sunday, with 11/20 for the in-form visitors to enjoy victory over the beleaguered Sicilians.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
