Champions League Preview: Inter vs Feyenoord – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for the return leg of a nearly-decided Champions League last-16 tie between Inter and Feyenoord. Simone Inzaghi’s side set one foot in the quarter-finals after a comfortable 2-0 first-leg win in Rotterdam.

Goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez on either side of halftime inspired Inter to a commanding victory at De Kuip. El Toro made history in the process. His second-half strike took his Champions League tally in the Nerazzurri shirt to 18 goals, making him the club’s all-time top scorer in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Inter could’ve sealed progression last week had Piotr Zielinski held his nerve. However, the ex-Napoli midfielder fluffed his lines from the spot and failed to make it 3-0. Despite his miss, the reigning Scudetto holders remain in the driver’s seat to progress, especially after receiving the ultimate confidence booster on Saturday.

Serie A basement boys Monza took a 2-0 goal lead on this ground, only for Inter to score three unanswered goals and emerge 3-2 winners. In doing so, Inzaghi’s charges retained a single-point lead on second-placed Napoli. Meanwhile, the Dutch FA granted Feyenoord a weekend off to rest and prepare for this crucial road trip.

Newly-appointed manager Robin Van Persie is still waiting for his first win in charge. Moreover, Feyenoord failed to score in the former Dutch striker’s first two matches in the dugout, including a morale-wracking scoreless home draw against Eredivisie minnows NEC Nijmegen on his touchline debut.

Match Preview

Inter

Barring a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, Inter should reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the second time in three years. However, they would be naive to take this return leg for granted, knowing their European journey last season ended at this stage, even though they held a two-goal cushion against Atletico Madrid.

On this occasion, they defend a comprehensive lead on home turf, where they’ve not lost any of their last 14 Champions League fixtures (W12, D2). Furthermore, Inter head into proceedings on a five-game winning home streak in this competition, netting ten unanswered goals in that sequence, including a 3-0 thrashing of Monaco last time out.

Defensive solidity has been a hallmark of Inter’s imperious Champions League run this season. Indeed, they’ve kept an eye-catching eight clean sheets from nine games in this competition, conceding just one goal, courtesy of Bayer Leverkusen’s 90th-minute winner in their only defeat on Matchday 6.

For context, Inter’s 89% clean sheet rate is the highest ever recorded by a team in a specific Champions League campaign of at least five matches.

Feyenoord

Despite having a mountain to climb at the San Siro, Van Persie has not lost hope of turning this tie on its head. Whether that’s a reasonable hope or wishful thinking remains to be seen as Feyenoord must pull out an epic upset to lock down a quarter-final in the Champions League for the first time in the 21st century.

History doesn’t fancy De Stadionclub’s comeback quest, considering they have gone winless on their last eight UEFA-sanctioned visits to Italy (D3, L5), most recently drawing 1-1 with Milan on this ground in the knockout playoff round. Moreover, Feyenoord must score at least twice against the competition’s sturdiest backline to stand a chance of progression.

There’s another reason for skepticism. Just one of Feyenoord’s 26 Champions League away matches has yielded a multi-goal margin win, highlighting the magnitude of the task awaiting Van Persie’s lads at the San Siro. As if that’s not discouraging enough, the Dutch giants have won none of their last six competitive away games (D3, L3).

Team News

Inter will be without injured fullbacks Federico Dimarco, Matteo Darmian, and Nicola Zalewski. Zielinski is also out after suffering a calf problem against Monza. However, Carlos Augusto is back from a minor muscle issue and could start on the left flank.

On the other hand, Feyenoord could miss up to ten players for this trip amid a full-blown injury crisis. Goalkeeper Justin Bijlow and captain Quinten Timber are unavailable. The same goes for Hwang In-beom, Bart Nieuwkoop, Gernot Trauner, Calvin Stengs, and Quilindschy Hartman.

Inter vs Feyenoord Potential Starting Line-ups

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Augusto; L. Martinez, Thuram.

Feyenoord (4-2-3-1): Wellenreuther; Read, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Moder, Smal; Hadj Moussa, Paixao, Ivanusec; Carranza.

Inter vs Feyenoord Prediction

Feyenoord did nothing to suggest they could upset the apple cart in the first leg. Then, there’s Inter’s air of invincibility at the San Siro. Therefore, we back the Italian giants to seal progression with another routine home triumph.