Inter Milan will host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of UCL's last 16

Current Italian league toppers Inter Milan will host the Spanish club Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last 16 of the 2023/2024 Champions League on Wednesday, 21 Feb 2024 at the San Siro, Milan. In the group phase, Inter met Atletico's compatriots, namely Real Sociedad when Lautaro Martinez's goal gave Inter a 1-1 draw in Spain. After that, Inter was held 0-0 by Sociedad at home.

Atletic did the same as well, in the group phase, one of Atletico's opponents was the Italian club, Lazio when Pablo Barrios' goal gave the Spanish side a 1-1 draw in Italy. After that, Atletico won 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino. Inter won 4-0 over visitors Salernitana in Serie A on Saturday, Simone Inzaghi's side won through goals from Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez, Denzel Dumfries and Marko Arnautovic. Meanwhile, Atletico won 5-0 when they hosted Las Palmas in La Liga, Diego Simeone's men won thanks to Marcos Llorente's double, Angel Correa's double and a goal from Memphis Depay.

It is going to be an interesting bout between these two sides as one of them is thanks to the existence of two coaches, Simone Inzaghi and Diego Simeone. Both the respective managers were teammates at Lazio between 1999 and 2003 and also helped Lazio win the Serie A Scudetto in the 1999/2000 season.

Inter Milan, during the UCL group phase this season won three matches and their three matches ended in a draw while scoring a total of 8-5 in the league phase. The Nerazzurri's home matches in the Champions League group phase this season they won 1-0 against Benfica, 2-1 against Salzburg and drew 0-0 against Real Sociedad. The 3-time UCL winner is unbeaten in the last 8 matches in all competitions winning only one match. The Simone Inzaghi-led Italian club has kept 5 clean sheets in the last 6 matches in all competitions.

Atletico, during the UCL group phase this season won four matches and their two matches ended in a draw while scoring a total of 17-6 in the league phase. The Los Colchoneros' away matches in the Champions League group phase this season they won 3-1 against Feyenoord, and drew 1-1 against Lazio and 2-2 against Celtic respectively. The 11-time La Liga winner Atletico has lost 2 times and only won 1 time in the last 4 matches in all competitions. We expect this contest is going to be a wild one when these two belligerent sides square off in the UCL clash but we further anticipate this game will end in a stalemate.

Match Details

Match: Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid

Date: Thursday, 22 February 2024

Time: 01:30 AM IST

Venue: San Siro, Milan

Meeting records in the European Cup/UCL

Inter wins: 0
Draws: 0
Atletico wins: 1.

1 Meeting So Far b/w Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid

- Inter 0-2 Atletico (UEFA Super Cup).

Last 5 Matches of Inter Milan

- Napoli 0-1 Inter (Supercoppa)
- Fiorentina 0-1 Inter (Serie A)
- Inter 1-0 Juventus (Serie A)
- Roma 2-4 Inter (Serie A)
- Inter 4-0 Salernitana (Serie A)

Last 5 Matches Atletico Madrid

- Atletico 2-1 Rayo (La Liga)
- Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico (La Liga)
- Atletico 0-1 Bilbao (Copa del Rey )
- Sevilla 1-0 Atletico (La Liga)
- Atletico 5-0 Las Palmas (La Liga)

Probable Playing XI: Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid

Inter Milan: Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram.

Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Squad info: Frattesi (doubtful), Acerbi (doubtful).

Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Savic, Gimenez, Hermoso, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Saul; Griezmann, Llorente.

Coach: Diego Simeone.

Squad info: Lemar (injured), Azpilicueta (injured).

Match Prediction: Inter Milan 1-1 Atletico Madrid