UEFA Champions League Preview: Inter vs Arsenal – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Inter Milan’s hopes of securing automatic qualification for the Champions League last-16 are on the line as they take on Arsenal tonight. Tuesday’s mouth-watering clash at Stadio San Siro has all the makings of a must-win clash for the home side.

Cristian Chivu had enjoyed a dream start to his first managerial season at Europe’s top table. Indeed, Inter eased past Ajax, Slavia Prague, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, and Kairat Almaty in their opening four league phase games. However, things have since gone south.

Back-to-back defeats at the hands of Atletico Madrid and Liverpool have left Inter’s bid to lock down a top-eight berth in tatters. With 15th-placed Barcelona sitting just two points adrift of the Nerazzurri, anything other than a victory in this match could prove fatal for Inter’s lofty ambitions.

However, the task is nothing short of Herculean as Inter face one of Europe’s best sides. In addition to leading the way in the Premier League, Arsenal head into proceedings as the only side yet to drop a single point in this season’s Champions League.

With six wins out of six games, the Gunners have set one foot in the Round of 16. Yet, the visitors won’t take anything for granted, as they seek vengeance for a narrow 1-0 loss at this stadium last season. As such, tonight’s showdown at San Siro promises to be an absolute thriller.

Match Preview

Inter

Despite steering three points clear of second-placed Milan in the Serie A standings and amassing 12 points in the first six Champions League rounds, Inter must defy an ominous trend in this fixture. The 20-time Italian champions have notoriously struggled in high-profile matches this season.

For context, both of their European losses came against top teams, while they’ve failed to beat Napoli (twice), Milan, and Juventus in Serie A. As such, Chivu is still waiting for his first ‘big game’ triumph in charge of the Nerazzurri, as they head into this encounter on a six-game unbeaten run (W5, D1).

Inter can draw further confidence from a stellar 18-game undefeated Champions League streak at San Siro (W15, D3) before Liverpool’s victory here. That doesn’t change the fact that the hosts are at risk of losing three consecutive games in Europe’s most prestigious club competition for the first time since 2011.

Lautaro Martinez, who scored the winning goal against Udinese on Saturday, could help his side avoid this unwanted record. However, El Toro has yet to score against a top team this season despite racking up 15 goals across all competitions.

Arsenal

There’s only a handful of sides that can match Inter’s set-piece prowess, with the Nerazzurri netting 16 goals from such plays this term. Yet, Arsenal have gone even further, netting 28, though their trademark trait let them down in Saturday’s scoreless draw at Nottingham Forest.

Despite dropping points at the City Ground, Mikel Arteta’s men are unbeaten in their last 11 outings in all competitions (W9, D2), which started with their 3-0 rout of Club Brugge in their most recent Champions League game. A seventh consecutive Champions League triumph would mark a new club record.

With the Gunners losing just one away game since the beginning of September, few would bet against them rewriting history at San Siro. However, Arsenal’s last win on Italian soil dates back to 2008, while they’ve failed to score on five successive visits to Serie A clubs since then (D1, L4).

It’s hard to expect that trend to continue, considering only three sides have scored more Champions League goals than Arsenal’s 17 this term. It’s worth noting that 13 of those strikes came in the second half, suggesting the Gunners could be a nuisance after the halftime break.

Team News

Star midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, who scored the winning goal for Inter in last season’s match against Arsenal, is on the sidelines with a calf injury. The Turkish ace has joined long-term absentees Denzel Dumfries, Raffaele Di Gennaro, and Tomas Palacios in the pits.

As for Arsenal, Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie remain on the treatment table. On the bright side, Arteta has welcomed Kai Havertz back from a lengthy layoff, though the German forward is likely to start on the bench, with Gabriel Jesus expected to lead the line.

Inter vs Arsenal Potential Starting Lineups

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Acerbi, Akanji, Bastoni; Henrique, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Zielinski, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.

Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Zubimendi, Merino; Madueke, Jesus, Martinelli.

Inter vs Arsenal Prediction

With no margin for error, Inter will be out to break their ‘big game’ jinx and get one step closer toward securing another top-eight finish. They’ve won two of their three previous Champions League clashes against Arsenal (L1), and we expect them to strengthen their head-to-head record here.