The 2023/23 football season has taken a break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, making now the ideal time to publish a midterm report on how the Italian clubs are doing in the Champions League.
AC Milan, Inter, and Napoli all progressed to the Round of 16, but unfortunately, we lost to Juventus in the group stages. The Old Lady is going through a period of struggle, and this was as evident as ever when they finished third in Group H, with just three points from six matches.
With a favourable draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli are the shortest-priced Italian club in the betting. Luciano Spalletti’s side is just 10/1. They are followed by the two Milan clubs, both at 33/1 with Betfair.
Betfair also has live odds and a World Cup betting promotion running throughout the current 2022 FIFA World Cup. These offers are often available in bigger competitions like the World Cup, and the Champions League.
To put the odds on the Italian trio into perspective, Manchester City is the favourites to win the Champions League at just 13/8. Bayern Munich is next at 6/1, with PSG at 8/1, and then Liverpool at 9/1. This shows Napoli is regarded as having a good chance of lifting the trophy for the first time in their history.
Along with Benfica at 22/1, AC Milan and Inter are the best three teams in what looks like the outsiders. The teams with the longest odds are RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, and Eintracht Frankfurt, all at 100/1. So all in all, it’s not a bad showing for the remaining three Italian clubs.
As winners of Group A, Napoli went into the seeded pot of teams, where they were drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt. The German side qualified for the Champions League by winning last season’s Europa League.
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— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) May 19, 2022
They are currently fourth in the Bundesliga and having a pretty decent season by all accounts. That said, it’s probably safe to assume that Frankfurt is one of the teams that Luciano Spalletti would privately have been happy to face.
AC Milan has drawn Tottenham Hotspur, and with the English side being a bit hit or miss, the Rossoneri will believe they have a chance of progressing. Milan came through Group E quite comfortably in second place behind Chelsea. This is probably about where they would have expected to finish when the draw was made.
Inter are through, so Barca are OUT ?
Romelu Lukaku was among the goals as Inter Milan beat Viktoria Plzen in the #UCL.
Report ? #BBCFootball
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 26, 2022
As for Inter Milan, they can be very proud of their efforts to come through Group C, a group that consisted of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Viktoria Plze?. And qualification was achieved on Matchday 5. The Nerazzurri have already overachieved this season, and it could get even better, having drawn Porto in the last 16.
Overall, except for Juventus, it seems to have been a decent season – so far – for the Italian clubs in the Champions League. Napoli is amongst the favourites to win, AC Milan is about par, and Inter Milan has already got a pass. Not a bad mid-term report all around.
Photo by Unsplash
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Italian clubs in the Champions League; Mid term report – Forza Italian Football
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