After inflicting humiliation on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, Sheriff Tiraspol arrive at the Giuseppe Meazza with the aim of upsetting another European giant.
Champions League Matchday 3 sees third-placed Inter welcome Group D leaders Sheriff, in what is the first ever meeting between teams from Italy and Moldova across all European competitions.
Preview
Inter continued their tradition of stalemates in Europe against Ukrainian rivals Shakhtar Donetsk last time around. The Nerazzurri sit third in the table with 1 point, two behind Real Madrid and five behind surprise of the tournament Sheriff, who are unbeaten with a 100% win record.
The Nerazzurri come into the encounter having tasted their first defeat of the Serie A season, a 3-1 loss to Simone Inzaghi’s ex-employers Lazio. With back-to-back games against Yuriy Vernydub’s Sheriff side, the Milan giants will look to place themselves in a favorable position as group stages progress.
The Moldovan minnows will undoubtedly be looking for their third straight victory and nothing less, especially after gaining confidence from their biggest ever victory in history – a stupendous 2-1 win over Los Blancos on matchday 2. They have only lost one of their last nine European away matches.
In stark contrast, Italian giants Inter have won only one of their last nine games in the Champions League (W1, D4, L4) and have failed to score in five of the last seven games in the competition.
Sheriff have all the ability in the world to inflict yet another major upset in the group.
Previous Results
Inter – W, D, D, W, L
Sheriff – W, W, W, W, W
Expected Lineups and Team News
Inter
Stefano Sensi and Gabriel Brazao remain absent for the Nerazzurri. Lautaro Martinez, Matias Vecino and Denzel Dumfries could all find their way into Inzaghi’s starting eleven that adopts the traditional and versatile 3-5-2 formation.
3-5-2 – Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Vecino, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Dzeko
Sheriff
The Moldovans are expected to don the same line-up that embarrassed Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
4-2-3-1 – Athanasiadis; Costanza, Arboleda, Dulanto, Cristiano; Addo, Thill; Traore, Kolovos, Castaneda; Yaxshiboyev
Prediction: Inter 3-1 Sheriff
Although the visitors will be high on morale, it will be extremely hard for them to contain the Nerazzurri ranks that is bound to bounce back from their Serie A setback against Lazio. Inter can be expected to score few goals and possibly overcome and end Sheriff’s impressive run.