Inter Milan will look to seal progression into the knockout round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League when they welcome Viktoria Plzen to San Siro on Wednesday.
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan)
Key Statistics
Inter Milan have only two defeats from their last nine UCL group stage matches (W5, D2).
The hosts are unbeaten in their last five games (W4, D1).
They have scored 2+ goals in each of their last four games.
Viktoria Plzen have lost all their UCL group stage games so far, conceding 4+ goals in three.
The visitors have never won an away game against an Italian club in ten previous UCL/European Cup games.
They have won only four of 22 UCL group-stage games (D3, L15).
Head to head
Inter won the first official meeting between both sides 2-0.
Latest performances in all competitions
Inter Milan: W-W-D-W-W
Viktoria Plzen: W-L-W-L-W
Inter Milan
Inter have the opportunity to book their place in the knockout round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League this Wednesday when they host Plzen.
The San Siro side needs to beat their visitors to seal progression to the next round and condemn Barcelona to Europa League football for the second season in a row. After losing their first game of the UCL when they were beaten by Bayern Munich at home, Simone Inzaghi’s men rallied to put themselves in this comfortable position by recording back-to-back wins over Bayern Munich and Plzen before a credible 3-3 draw with Barcelona at Nou Camp last time out ensured that their destiny remained in their hands.
But things can slip out of their hands if they fail to win here, something they will be desperate to avoid given that they will travel to Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich in the last game. So a win here is a must for them after all the hard work they have put in recently to turn around their poor form.
The Nerazzurri come into this tie unbeaten in their last five games after recording a 4-3 win over Fiorentina at the weekend. They have won four of their last five games while scoring 2+ goals in each of their last four. So they will be confident of winning here and sealing progression to the knockout stages for the second season in a row.
Possible Inter Milan starting line-up
Andre Onana; Milan Skriniar, Francesco Acerbi, Stefan de Vrij; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Edin Dzeko, Lautaro Martinez.
Injured: Marcelo Brozovic
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Viktoria Plzen
Group C minnows Viktoria Plzen will look to get their first points of this UCL campaign when they travel to Milan on Wednesday.
The Czech Republic side are coming off a 3-1 weekend win which means they are still unbeaten in their domestic league campaign (W10, D2).
But that form is in stark contrast to their UCL group stage form which has seen them lose all four games and concede 4+ goals in three, with the 2-0 reverse fixture defeat the only exception.
But despite their poor European campaign, they are still mathematically in the race to finish third and qualify for the Europa League for the fourth time in as many UCL group-stage attempts given that Barcelona are just four points ahead.
But to do that, Plzeň has to arrest their losing trend in this season’s UCL. Yet a poor UCL group stage record (W4, D3, L15) highlights how they often fail to shine at this stage. However, if they can upset the odds here to get a good result, it would earn them a footnote in history as no Czech side has ever won an away game against an Italian club in ten previous UCL/European Cup games (D3, L7).
Possible Viktoria Plzen starting line-up
Marian Tvrdon; Libor Holik, Ludek Pernica, Mohamed Tijani, Milan Havel; Pavel Bucha, Lukas Kalvach; Jan Kopic, Jhon Mosquera, Adam Vlkanova; Tomas Chory.
Injured: Reznik, Jan Sykora
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Inter 3-0 Plzen
