Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich

In a repeat of the 2010 Champions League final, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich go head-to-head in the opening game of the so-called ‘group of death.’

Inter Milan’s bid to find a way out of the Champions League group stages for the second time in five seasons commences at home, where they’ve lost all three previous European meetings with Bayern. Simone Inzaghi’s side suffered a morale-crushing 3-2 Milan derby defeat to AC Milan in the build-up to this fixture, making it two losses from their last three Serie A outings (W1). With Inter’s confidence a little depleted following a false start to the new domestic season, ‘I Nerazzurri’ look unlikely to improve a dismal run of one win from their last six Champions League openers on home turf (D3, L2). Yet, connoisseurs of action-packed football should be looking forward to this encounter, considering Inter’s last ten Champions League games against German rivals have featured an average of 3.9 goals.

On the other hand, Bayern Munich shared the spoils with fellow Bundesliga rivals Union Berlin in a disappointing 1-1 draw at the weekend, making it two consecutive league stalemates. Eager to get back to winning ways, the ‘Bavarians’ will seek revenge for a 2-0 H2H defeat in the 2010 Champions League final. There’s plenty of reason for optimism in Julian Nagelsmann’s camp. Indeed, his men have found the net in 14 successive European matches against Italian sides since that failure, averaging 2.57 goals per game. What’s more, the perennial Bundesliga champions have racked up 17 victories from 18 Champions League group stage fixtures across the last three seasons (D1), further solidifying their bid to start the 19th consecutive Champions League campaign with a matchday-one win.