Inter hold a 1-0 advantage heading into their Champions League round of 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
The Nerazzurri were dominant for large swathes at San Siro as their stellar domestic form permeated into this continental tie. However, they only breached Jan Oblak’s defence once through Marko Arnautovic, who’d previously missed a couple of golden opportunities.
Atletico are still very much in the tie and their supreme record at the Wanda suggests Inter have their work cut out if they’re to advance into the quarter-finals.
The hosts have stumbled domestically, however, losing at Cadiz on Saturday after succumbing to Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Inter, on the contrary, have remained majestic in Serie A and are waltzing towards the Scudetto.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 second leg.
Atletico Madrid vs Inter H2H Record
Current Form (all competitions)
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Atletico Madrid |
Inter |
|---|---|
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Cadiz 2-0 Atletico Madrid – 09/03/24 |
Bologna 0-1 Inter – 09/03/24 |
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Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Betis – 03/03/24 |
Inter 2-1 Genoa – 04/03/24 |
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Athletic Club 3-0 Atletico Madrid – 29/02/24 |
Inter 4-0 Atalanta – 28/02/24 |
|
Almeria 2-2 Atletico Madrid – 24/02/24 |
Lecce 0-4 Inter – 25/02/24 |
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Inter 1-0 Atletico Madrid – 20/02/24 |
Inter 1-0 Atletico Madrid – 20/02/24 |
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
discovery+, TNT Sports 1, discovery+ App |
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United States |
Paramount+ |
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Canada |
DAZN |
Antoine Griezmann is the major injury concern for the hosts. The Frenchman has been nursing an ankle injury since the first leg but is expected to return on Wednesday night.
Jose Gimenez is also a doubt with a muscle injury, as is Pablo Barrios.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Vitolo, Thomas Lemar and Marcos Paulo will all miss out.
Atletico predicted lineup vs Inter (3-5-2): Oblak; Witsel, Savic, Hermoso; Llorente, De Paul, Koke, Saul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata.
First-leg hero Arnautovic is set to miss the return fixture with a hamstring injury, but Marcus Thuram will be on hand to partner Lautaro Martinez up top.
Inter will also be without the perpetually injured Stefano Sensi and Juan Cuadrado. Back-up centre-back Carlos Augusto is also a doubt.
Inter predicted lineup vs Atletico (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram.
The Wanda certainly has a huge role to play as it was clear from the first leg that Inter are the superior outfit. The Nerazzurri, though, may come to rue a litany of wasted opportunities from the first leg.
Atletico should be braver on home soil, especially out of possession, but such courage could play into Inter’s hands given their proficiency in the build-up. The hosts need Griezmann fit and firing against a stubborn Inter backline and they’ve got to find a way of bypassing Yann Sommer between the sticks.
Overall, the dynamic of Wednesday’s bout could be similar to the first leg with Inter showing their class in a tough environment to prevail.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Inter
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