Inter Milan vs Villarreal
While the Premier League is set to kick off this weekend, Europe’s other top leagues are still a week away and pre-season preparation continue at pace.
Inter vs Villarreal at the Stadio Adriatico-Giovanni Cornacchia in Pescara, is an eye-catching club friendly between Serie A and La Liga big guns. Simone Inzaghi’s Inter are preparing for a title push, while Unai Emery’s Villarreal are serious top-four contenders in the Spanish league. The 2021 Europa League champions handed out plenty of bloody noses in last season’s Champions League, notably to FC Bayern and Juventus and the club friendly 2022 odds suggest they will give I Nerazzurri a stiff test.
Inter’s aim is to stop Milan from winning back-to-back Scudetti while holding off a looming challenge from Juventus. The latest odds suggest it could be a shoot-out between Inter and the Old Lady; at SBOTOP odds of 2.75, Inter Milan currently have a slight edge on I Bianconeri at 2.90.
In their last outing Inter cruised to an 8-0 win over Serie C outfit Pergolettese, bagging six goals in the first half, with strikers Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku all finding the net. The Inter fans will be delighted to see their 2021 Scudetto-winning striker partnership of Martinez and Lukaku reformed and, after the Argentine Martinez continued to progress last term, this time around they could produce something even more special.
Lukaku needs a lift after a miserable 12 months at Chelsea and now he is back where he feels he belongs.
Inzaghi may be tempted to start with his two main strikers as this is Inter Milan’s last run-out before the Serie A action starts against Lecce on August 13th.
Asllani staking his claim
Summer recruit Kristjan Asllani signed for a fee of around 14m Euros from Empoli and the 20-year-old midfield starlet has been primed as an eventual replacement for the 29-year-old Marcelo Brozovic, but Asllani has been mightily impressive in pre-season and he’s pushing for a place in the match day squad against Lecce.
Asllani has maturity beyond his years, calmness on the ball and with a superb range of passing and he may well make his way into the side alongside the experienced Croat Brozovic. And with Henrikh Mkhitaryan struggling for fitness the young Albanian could get a chance to make more club friendly 2022 highlights.
Villarreal impressive in pre-season
A seventh-place finish last season landed Villarreal in the Europa League Conference and Emery’s side is highly fancied to do well at home and abroad over the next nine months.
The Yellow Submarine came through a tough test against Levante on Wednesday as their opponents got stuck in and prompted the referee to wave nine yellow cards; not exactly your typical ‘friendly’.
Emery took the chance to field two elevens, changing all but two players at the break and there were run-outs for all the key men in his squad. Dani Parejo, now 33, will play a big role in the coming campaign as a playmaker and a mentor for the younger players, while Emery will be delighted that 25-year-old centre-back Pau Torres is still at the club. He’s been widely admired after starring in the Champions League and for Spain and if Torres stays with the Yellow Sub then they will be a force to be reckoned with.
19-year-old striker Yeremy Pino may be on the move through; Liverpool are watching the Spain international closely. And the future of fellow striker Paco Alcacer is yet to be resolved. It looks like Alcacer isn’t part of Emery’s plans and the boss needs to offload some big earners before he can bring new bodies in, with former PSG and Manchester United star Edinson Cavani strongly linked with a move to Villareal.
The La Liga news is all over the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid, particularly as the Blaugrana have signed Robert Lewandowksi and won a pre-season clash with Los Blancos. But there is life outside El Clasico in Spain and Villarreal are sure to be in the chasing pack in the league and on the hunt for silverware. The Yellow Submarine are fifth-favourites to win the La Liga title at odds of 51.00, behind only Barca, the Madrid giants and Sevilla. And, at a price of 15.00 they are a decent outside bet for the Copa del Rey.
The Spanish league is a competitive one and to be rated higher than both Real Sociedad and Real Betis says a lot about Villarreal as a club.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
