- The Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan will kick off on Wednesday at 2300EAT.
- Inter have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.
Atletico Madrid will be looking to secure a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals when they welcome Inter Milan in a death or glory match set for Wednesday night at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Diego Simeone-coached side are looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in their last-16 tie where Marko Arnautovic’s late winner in Italy gave the Nerazzurri bragging rights going into the reverse clash.
Atletico will be facing Inter, last season’s Champions League finalists, against the backdrop of a string of worrying results as they have only won two of their last nine matches across all competitions (D2 L%).
The Rojiblancos were sent packing out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Club following a 4-0 aggregate loss in the semfinals of the cup competition.
Cadiz then poured more misery on Atletico as they handed them a 2-0 defeat in their last league outing over the weekend which now leaves them placed fourth in the La Liga log behind Barcelona.
Diego’s side enters Wednesday’s clash with a bad history of failing to progress from any of their last three knockout ties after losing the first leg.
However, the hosts are hanging on hope that they have lost just one of their last 32 games in all tournaments at the Wanda Metropolitano.
On the other side, Inter are approaching the game with good fortunes. Their last time out, they thrashed Bologna making it 13 wins in a row.
Simone Inzaghi’s men sit at the summit of Serie A with 75 points from 28 matches, boasting a whopping 16-point lead over rivals AC Milan in second place.
With such outstanding form, Nerazzurri is keen to dump out Madrid and fight for the Champions League title following last season’s final defeat to Manchester City.
Here are the key details you need to know ahead of the Champions League match
What time does Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan start?
The do-or-die match is scheduled to take place at 11 pm Tanzanian time at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.
Atletico vs Inter Milan Team News
The home team is hopeful that danger-man Antoine Griezmann and Jose Gimenez could both return to the matchday squad as the duo missed their last match with ankle and thigh injuries respectively.
Diego will however miss the services of Thomas Lemar and Cesar Azpilicueta who are sidelined due to achilles and knee injuries respectively.
If Gimenez fails to make it to the match squad, either Gabriel Paulista or Stefan Savic to play in the central defence. On the other hand, Nahuel Molina or Marcos Llorente could feature at right wing-back in case of Griezmann’s absence.
Nonetheless, Diego has squad depth in the midfield consisting of Saul Niguez, Koke and Rodrigo De Paul. His attack could be bolstered by the return of Memphis Depay who could join Alvaro Morata, who has scored just one goal in his last 10 appearances.
Inzaghi’s side is likely to miss Arnautovic who scored the winning goal in the first-leg encounter due to a hamstring injury. Nerazzurri could also miss the services of Carlos Augusto who tweaked his calf in last weekend’s win at Bologna.
Other players set to miss the clash include Juan Cuadrado and Stefano Sensi who are both injured.
Inzaghi is expected to field Federico Dimarco to take the place of Augusto at left wing-back while Benjamin Pavard and Stefan de Vrij could replace Bisseck and Francesco Acerbi in central defence.
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Possible Starting Lineups
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Savic, Witsel, Hermoso, Lino; Saul, De Paul, Koke; Depay, Morata
Inter Milan: Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan Head-to-head
The teams have met thrice. Their only previous meeting before this tie came in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup, which Atletico won 2-0. Inter have won two times while the Atleti has only won once.
Matches: 3
Inter Milan: 2
Atletico Madrid: 1
Draws: 0
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Current Form
Atletico Madrid: WLDLWL
Inter Milan: WWWWWW
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan Prediction
Atletico Madrid are expected to capitalize on their strong form at home as they seek to overturn the tie.
However, Inter cannot be ruled out bearing in mind their current form both in the league and the Champions League.
Football fans should expect an entertaining match that will be decided by key moments and precision.
Quick facts on Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan
What is the head-to-head record between these two sides?
This will be Atlético’s first home game against Inter in any competition.