Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds Predictions

• Inter Milan have won three of their last seven matches to nil
• Urawa Reds lost their last Club World Cup match to a European side 3-0 (Manchester City, 2023)
• Lautaro Martinez has scored 16 goals in his last 26 games for Inter

No excuses for Nerazzurri against overmatched Reds 

Inter Milan will be out to make amends for a sloppy and lacklustre opening performance in the Club World Cup when they face Urawa Reds at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Saturday.

Christian Chivu’s side began their bid for glory in first gear and failed to get out of it for long spells of their 1-1 draw with Monterrey at the Rose Bowl. Some of the stars of the squad that reached the Champions League final last month, only to fall 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain, looked like they would rather be on holiday, while some of the new faces failed to fire.

They cannot afford another below-par showing against the J-League side, who were outclassed by an exciting River Plate side in their opener. Urawa matched the Argentine side for work-rate but lacked any inspiration in the final third and only grabbed their consolation goal in a deserved 3-1 defeat when one of the River defenders made a rash decision that led to a penalty.

Martinez in much better form than Thuram

It was the sort of blunder that an Inter defender probably wouldn’t make and, given the Japanese outfit rarely threatened a goal from open play, suggests Inter can get a clean sheet in Seattle.

The Nerazzuri have won three of their last seven games to nil and this looks like a solid play again at odds just shy of evens. Urawa Reds failed to score when they last faced a good European side, Manchester City in the 2023 Club World Cup, when they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat.

Inter are not as potent as that Pep Guardiola-coached team with very few of the midfielders capable of grabbing more than a couple of goals every season. They rely on Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram for the vast majority of their goals and with the Frenchman somewhat subdued against Monterrey, Martinez may be the man to score for them again.