The men led by Simone Inzaghi came in second place in Group C, which tied them with the Portuguese champions, who finished first in Group B by capitalizing on the mistakes made by their competitors and winning the group.
Team News
Inter Milan
- Inter will be without thigh victim Joaquin Correa for the visit of Porto. But the Nerazzurri manager is facing quite the attacking problem regardless of whether or not Joaquin Correa is available. Inter should be nearly blessed with a full complement of players.
- A well-rested Martinez should be able to return to the two-man strikeforce in Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 system, and a revitalized Lukaku might be able to edge over Edin Dzeko, despite the fact that the latter scored three goals and assisted on. another in the group stage.
- After getting some rest over the weekend, the trio of Hakan Calhanoglu, Milan Skriniar, and goalie Andre Onana could also enter the fray. As a result, Matteo Darmian, Mkhitaryan, and shrewd veteran Samir Handanovic should be taken out of the starting lineup.
Porto
- Evanilson, Fabio Cardoso, Gabriel Veron, and Francisco Meixedo are all anticipated to be unable to play for Porto, and manager Conceicao is working around a little injury crisis in order to prepare for the trip.
- Mateus Uribe and Galeno will need to be evaluated, but it is also possible that they will make the absentee list. To make matters even worse, Saturday’s game-winner Martinez went down injured in the closing stages of the match, and he had to be replaced.
- There is a lack of information regarding the seriousness of Martinez’s injury; however, Danny Namaso will be on standby, and both of Pepe’s players, the 39-year-old center back and the 25-year-old forward, are scheduled to start the game.
Possible Lineup
Inter Milan: Onana; Skriniar, Bastoni, Acerbi; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Dimarco; Lukaku, Martinez
Porto: Costa; Mario, Pepe, Carmo, Sanusi; Franco, Eustaquio, Grujic, Pepe; Taremi, Namaso
Prediction Analysis
When you put two of Europe’s best rearguards against each other, you can expect the outcome to be a tightly contested match, and Porto has shown great fortitude in the face of adversity as they have been dealing with their injury issue.
However, Conceicao’s growing fitness concerns may ultimately count against him at the San Siro fortress, where Inzaghi’s side has the opportunity to break down the stalwart Dragons backline and end their visitors’ unbeaten streak in order to take a narrow advantage to Portugal for the second leg. of the match.
Our prediction is Inter Milan 1-0 Porto.