Inter Milan will be eager to make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League as they hold an advantage over Feyenoord ahead of the second leg.
Simone Inzaghi will have been pleased with his team’s performance in the first leg over Feyenoord in Rotterdam, as Inter Milan took a 2-0 advantage into the second leg. Goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez proved enough for the Nerazzurri, who also held their own in containing the Dutch side.
Inter Milan continued their winning form into the weekend, and while they did suffer for considerable periods against bottom-placed Monza, the Nerazzurri did find a way in the end. The win kept them at the top of the Serie A standings as they maintained their single-point advantage over Napoli.
Inzaghi will be eager to wrap up this tie early on Tuesday night rather than drag the game into unwanted drama. Inter Milan are the overwhelming favourites to make it into the quarter-finals, as the Rotterdam side are not expected to stage a stunning comeback here.
Robin van Persie’s Champions League debut did not go to plan, as the former Arsenal and Manchester United striker felt the injury problems in his team. In any case, Feyenoord will return to San Siro again after beating AC Milan in the playoffs, and they will aim to repeat the trick against Inter Milan.
While Feyenoord are coming back to San Siro under different circumstances compared to their tie against Milan, they will have had better rest than their opponents. The Rotterdam side did not play at the weekend which would have given van Persie more time to prepare.
Although it is seen as an impossible task to overturn their first-leg deficit, stranger things have happened in the UEFA Champions League before. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Inter Milan
Simone Inzaghi will have a better set of players compared to the first leg when he did have some key injuries to contend with. For starters, the manager is likely to bring Yann Sommer back into the fold, with Josep Martinez likely to return to the bench.
Carlos Augusto came off the bench against Monza, and he should come into the starting lineup on the left-wing, as Federico Dimarco remains sidelined. Fellow wing-back Nicola Zalewski is also out while Matteo Darmian and Valentin Carboni are the other players missing from action.
Inzaghi did go with his strongest lineup against Monza, meaning there could be a few changes in midfield, while Alessandro Bastoni might return to his customary position in the back three.
Much like the first leg, Kristjan Asllani and Piotr Zielinski could make it into the starting lineup alongside Nicolo Barella in that Inter Milan midfield. Inzaghi might go with his main two forwards Marcus Thuram and skipper Lautaro Martinez in the frontline.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, de Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Augusto; Martinez, Thuram
Feyenoord
Robin van Persie continues to suffer from massive injury problems in his squad. As many as four of his first team starters are missing, while there’s a whole other group consisting of at least six players are considerable doubts for the second leg.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Osman remains suspended, and there is a potential return for Givairo Read into the squad, as he will slot into the right-back slot. Thomas Beelen and David Hancko will feature at the heart of the defence, while Hwang In-beom will anchor the Feyenoord midfield.
That move could see Gijs Smal be stationed at left-back. Jakub Moder and Antoni Milambo are likely to play a part in Feyenoord’s midfield setup, with the front three consisting of Anis Hadj Moussa, Julian Carranza and Igor Paixao.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Wellenreuther; Read, Beelan, Hancko, Smal; Moder, Hwang, Milambo; Moussa, Carranza, Paixao
Key Stats
- Inter Milan have won their last five home games across all competitions.
- Inter Milan have kept a clean sheet in their last five European home games.
- Feyenoord are winless in their last six away games.
- Feyenoord have one win from their last five games across all competitions.
- Inter Milan and Feyenoord have met on three previous occasions in Europe, with both sides winning one game each (D1). Those two victories have both been achieved by the away side, with Feyenoord winning in Italy in April 2002 (1-0) and Internazionale winning in the Netherlands last week (2-0).
Player to Watch
Marcus Thuram
With 15 goals across all competitions to his name, Thuram remains Inter Milan’s outright top scorer this term, and he was certainly missed to a degree against AC Monza as a starter. There’s another argument to be had that without Thuram, Martinez does not perform on his own, which does make the Frenchman extremely important.
Thuram will be the main man for Inter Milan if they harbour any hopes of winning the Champions League. Inzaghi has been extremely cautious about the Frenchman following a recent injury concern, although he will use the striker against Feyenoord, as this is another game where the striker can showcase his clutch form and secure Inter Milan a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Prediction
Inter Milan 2-0 Feyenoord
Feyenoord did show plenty of character in the first leg despite missing a host of their key first-team stars. They did succumb to a clinical Nerazzurri side that time, as they make a swift return to the San Siro, hoping things are similarly favourable as they were against AC Milan in the playoffs.
Inter Milan are not likely to concede their advantage from the first leg, and unlike their local rivals, the Nerazzurri are far more conservative in defence. Simone Inzaghi’s side are likely to take another win and probably even keep a clean sheet in this one, as they make their way into the quarterfinals of the Champions League.