Overview
Conceding a 2-goal lead after a defeat in Norway, Inter Milan needs a spectacular comeback when welcoming the rising Bodo/Glimt team at Milan in the second leg of the Champions League play-offs.
However, the match taking place at San Siro ended with the home team not being able to enter the round of 16, when Bodo scored 2 goals from counter-attacks to win 2-1 in the second leg.
Although Alessandro Bastoni scored to narrow the score in the final minutes, Inter had to pay the price for inaccurate finishes on a day without captain and key striker Lautaro Martinez. They launched 30 shots but only 7 were on target.
After a poor performance and being eliminated, the three-time European champion now has to focus on the domestic arena, with Cristian Chivu's team still on track to win a Serie A and Coppa Italy double.
Inter is aiming to defend the Serie A championship after a 7-match winning streak, while the two legs of the Coppa Italia semi-final with Como are waiting ahead.
Last week, the 2-0 victory at Lecce Stadium was achieved thanks to late goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Manuel Akanji, helping Chivu's team widen the gap with city rivals AC Milan to 10 points.
With a record of winning all 14 recent matches in Serie A, averaging 2.6 goals per game, Nerazzurri is definitely very difficult to beat. And history shows that they are likely to continue their triumphal song this weekend.
Completely overwhelming against the visiting team, Inter has won 11 of their most recent home matches against Genoa, including keeping 9 clean sheets. After a 1-2 home defeat in the first leg this season, Genoa has not won any more matches and lost 10 of their last 13 encounters in Serie A, scoring only 5 goals. In fact, the last time Grifone defeated Inter was in February 2018, so the pressure will be very high when they return to San Siro.
The 3-0 victory at home against Torino last week helped Genoa continue the relegation battle, when they took full advantage of the numerical advantage right before the half-time break.
Since Daniele De Rossi took over, only Inter, Como and Juventus have scored more goals than Genoa, and the previous ineffective attack now possesses the best chance conversion rate in the league in that period.
Although the defense still has many weaknesses, the Liguria club has kept a clean sheet in the last 2 matches. However, they are still in a very dangerous situation, only 3 points ahead of the relegation group and are one of 6 teams competing to avoid relegation.
Personnel situation
Because captain Martinez cannot return due to a calf injury until next month, Chivu has to choose two of Francesco Pio Esposito, Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny to lead the attack.
In defense, Alessandro Bastoni is suspended, so one of the two names Carlos Augusto or Francesco Acerbi will replace him in the 3-center-back system.
Positive news for Inter is that Denzel Dumfries has returned after a long absence, while the key midfield duo Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu are both ready to play after serving their Serie A suspension last weekend.
On Genoa's side, they expect the brilliance of Lorenzo Colombo - a player loaned to AC Milan. Since Daniele De Rossi took over in November, only Martinez has scored more goals than Colombo (6 goals) in Serie A.
Substitute goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist is still injured, and English full-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy is also having physical problems.
Expected lineup:
Inter Milan: Sommer, Bisseck, Akanji, Augusto, Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco, Bonny, Esposito.
Bijlow, Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez, Sabelli, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Martin, Baldanzi, Vitinha, Colombo.
The match between Inter and Genoa takes place at 2:45 AM on March 1st (Vietnam time).
