Serie A champions Inter need a quick turnaround after Saturday's fiasco in the Milan derby as they face Feyenoord in a high-stakes UEFA Champions League clash. Cristian Chivu's men have endured a poor start to this season's league phase and cannot afford another slip-up if they're to qualify for the knockout stages.
Inter's near-flawless domestic season (W8, D1) ended abruptly last weekend as Milan thumped them 3-1 in the latest edition of the famous Derby della Madonnina. However, the Nerazzurri can't dwell on Saturday's defeat, knowing just how fragile their bid to secure a Champions League knockout spot is.
Indeed, Inter's European campaign has started with a whimper rather than a bang, with the reigning Scudetto holders losing to Club Brugge and Real Madrid in the opening two rounds. Carlos Augusto's late winner against Shakhtar Donetsk last time out at least relieved some pressure, but the visitors would be foolish to take anything for granted just yet.
Like Inter, Feyenoord have stuttered at the beginning of this Champions League cycle. Except for a hard-earned 3-2 home win over Como on matchday two, the current Eredivisie pacesetters have lost their remaining two European fixtures, including an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at Barcelona on day one.
Feyenoord
Feyenoord had a frustrating weekend as they squandered a narrow lead to draw 1-1 at home to Fortuna Sittard, allowing second-placed Ajax to reduce the gap to a single point. In doing so, Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side stretched their winless streak in all competitions to three games (D2, L1), with each of them producing under 2.5 goals.
The Dutch manager probably wouldn't mind another low-scoring contest, as it might be Feyenoord's best chance to avoid another European debacle. They have suffered ten defeats across their last 13 continental fixtures (W3), but the fact that those three victories all came at De Kuip offers them a silver lining.
In search of good omens, Van Bronckhorst's only two Champions League wins as a manager have come against Italian opposition (L13). Moreover, Feyenoord have not lost any of their six previous home clashes against Serie A sides in the Champions League group/league phase (W4, D2), underlining the size of the task awaiting Inter on Tuesday.
Inter
Despite Feyenoord's dominant home record against Italian clubs at this stage of the competition, Inter can draw confidence from beating the Rotterdam outfit in both previous Champions League meetings. Those victories form part of Inter's eye-catching 13-game unbeaten run against Dutch sides at Europe's top table (W10, D3).
While that sounds comforting, Inter are actually staring down the barrel of a two-game losing sequence for the first time since last November. Ominously, that run started with a loss in the Milan derby and was followed up by a Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid, which initiated another dreadful stretch.
Starting with that reverse at the Metropolitano Stadium, Inter have lost three of their last four Champions League away matches (W1). Furthermore, they had lost a club-record four consecutive games in Europe's most prestigious competition before squeaking past Shakhtar last time out.
Feyenoord will be without long-term absentees Bart Nieuwkoop, Jordan Bos, and Thomas Beelen for this revenge-poised fixture, while there's a question mark over Jeremiah St. Juste's fitness. However, Gijs Smal, Reiss Nelson, and Shaqueel van Persie have all resumed full training and could be at Van Bronckhorst's disposal here.
Chivu cannot call upon Benjamin Pavard, Luis Henrique, John Stones, Curtis Jones, and captain Lautaro Martinez, whose absence could see Francesco Pio Esposito partner with Marcus Thuram in the final third. Despite Augusto's uptick in form, Federico Dimarco should start on the left wing, with Andy Diouf expected to get the nod on the opposite flank.
Feyenoord (4-3-3):Ernst; Read, Watanabe, Marmol, Lopez; Zechiel, Vanhoutte, Targhalline; Hadj Moussa, Ferri, Valente.
Inter (3-5-2):J. Martinez; Bisseck, Akanji, Augusto; Diouf, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco; Thuram, Esposito.
Notoriously slow out of the blocks, Feyenoord have conceded the opening goal in their last six Champions League outings. That should be music to Inter's ears as the visitors seek a much-needed victory to steer their faltering league-phase campaign back on track and bounce back from Saturday's heartbreak at San Siro.
