After consolidating their position at the top of the Serie A table, Inter will aim to stretch their winning run in the Champions League when they host Salzburg today at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Inter picked up a narrow 1-0 victory against Benfica in their last Champions League fixture courtesy of a Marcus Thuram goal in the 62nd minute. However, the Nerazzurri were held by Real Sociedad in their opening fixture and taking into account how the table may pan out, the Italian side need to keep winning their home matches.
The dynamic attacking duo of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez struck once again in Inter’s last match against Torino. The pair scored a goal each before Hakan Calhanoglu did the icing on the cake with an added-time penalty strike. With Milan losing out to Juventus, Simone Inzaghi’s men sit at the top of the league table for now.
Meanwhile, Salzburg approach this match on the back of a 1-0 defeat against LASK. Gerhard Struber’s side missed the opportunity to become the first Austrian team to secure two consecutive victories in the Champions League when they lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad. They managed to register a comfortable over Benfica, keeping them in contention to progress to the next round.
Last season’s Austrian Bundesliga champions are finding it a bit hard in the initial stages of this campaign as they are currently four points short of league leaders SK Sturm Graz. However, a positive run of results could change that as Die Roten Bullen are confident to shine in Europe as well as defend their league title this season.
Results from their last five matches across all competitions
Inter:
W D W W L
Salzburg:
L W D L W
Team News
Inter will miss Marko Arnautovic and Juan Cuadrado for the match.
A few changes are expected in the starting line-up with a significant run of fixtures coming up. Alessandro Bastoni is predicted to get the nod as he was rested in the last match.
Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez should partner upfront.
As for Salzburg, Fernando, Sekou Koita, Bryan Okoh and Lukas Wallner are set to remain sidelined for the game. Mads Bitsrup is expected to be out with illness.
Roko Simic is tilted to play an influential role for his side today.
Predicted XIs
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Salzburg (4-3-1-2): Schlager; Dedic, Pavlovic, Baidoo, Terzic; Capaldo, Gourna-Douath, Kjaergaard; Gloukh; Simic, Konate
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
About Author
