Inter Milan is aiming to win the Champions League this season when they travel to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzen.
Italian giants Inter Milan have not had the best start to the current 2022/23 season, having lost three of their last five matches in all competitions.
One of these losses was the 2-0 defeat to the German champions Bayern Munich in the opening match of the UEFA Champions League, where the Nerazzurri learned an unforgettable lesson in football.
Preview of the match Inter Milan vs Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League
Amid a group of death that includes Barcelona, Inter Milan now has the perfect opportunity to score against champions Viktoria Plzen.
The Czechs are, of course, the boys in the group, and Inter will be watching closely to avoid any nasty surprises. Losing Bayern is one thing, but losing to Viktoria Plzen would be terrible.
Simone Inzaghi's team does not have an old-fashioned character and has sometimes crumbled in the face of adversity. The Italian coach's insistence on a 3-5-2 with no Plan B has made the Nerazzurri somewhat predictable.
While it's hard to imagine Inzaghi changing his style this week, he has the advantage of having the better team on paper. Quality and strength in depth should explain a lot.
However, Viktoria Plzen does not have much to lose and showed promising signs of intent despite losing to Barcelona in the first game. When they play in front of their home crowd, the Czech giants will be.
Team news and possible line-ups
Victoria Plzen
Michal Bilic can call on a full squad and will be eager to give the home fans something to cheer about.
Viktoria Plzen has never faced Inter Milan in its history but managed to beat Roma in the last group match of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League.
A similar result seems unlikely, but it is not impossible. Inter Milan has shown itself to have an Achilles heel lately, and Viktoria Plzen can back that up by winning the game against their highly touted Italian opponents this evening.
Bilic is likely to field his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation aimed at shutting down Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in midfield.
Gendrich Stanek will start in goal behind four defenders Libor Holek, Lukas Hejda, Ludek Pernica and Vaclav Gimelka. Lukas Kalvach and Pavel Bucha will act as a double axis, allowing the trio of Jan Kopic, Jan Sykora, and Jhon Mosquera to do damage behind Tomas Chory, who will lead the line.
Chory and Sykora are in good contact and can give the Inter Milan defense something to worry about. Stefan de Vrij is not the fastest player and can find his hand full against bi-Plzen.
Possible lineup (4-2-3-1): Stanek; holek , Hajda, pernika, jamelka ; kalvac, Bocha ; Kope , Sikora, Mosquera; Khoury
Inter Milan
Simone Inzaghi will miss star striker Romelu Lukaku, who continues to recover from injury. The Inter Milan coach has a full-strength team to choose from in what can be considered a must-win game.
Inzaghi's men were among the best teams in Italy last season but they have lost their aura of immunity this time.
The main reason may be the excessive use of the 3-5-2 system of the Italian coach. Inter rarely lined up in a different formation and often only chose to switch their players with the same tactics.
Little will change on Tuesday, as the Nerazzurri will once again start with three players in defense.
Andre Onana single-handedly overcame his team's embarrassment against Bayern Munich and should be given preference over experienced goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
The Cameroonian will be protected by Milan's three defenders Skrinyar, Stefan de Vrij, and Alessandro Bastoni. Marcelo Brozovic was the hero against Torino at the weekend and is likely to start in midfield alongside Nicolo Varela and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Denzel Dumfries is likely to return to the right-back role, while Robin Goossens will occupy the other wing.
Lautaro Martinez is considered a striker and will be supported by Eden Dzeko, who will likely get the nod from Joaquin Correa.
As usual, Inter Milan will hope that Brozovic sets the tone for the winger to move forward and make the bid.
Possible lineup (3-5-2): Onana; Skriniar, de Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Varela, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Goossens; Dzeko, Martinez.
Most important statistics
- This is the first match between Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen. Inter Milan has only traveled to the Czech Republic once in the UEFA Champions League. That was in a 3-1 win over Slavia Prague in the 2018/19 group stage.
- Viktoria Plzen has won their last eight home matches, scoring at least two goals in each of them.
- Of the last 19 home matches in Europe, Viktoria Plzen has lost only one, 5-0 to Real Madrid in 2018.
- With a win, Inter Milan would win an away game in this competition for the first time since 2011.
- Viktoria Plzen had 23.80% possession in the first round against Barcelona. That was the lowest of any team in the first round.
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