Inter Milan will somehow attempt to salvage their Champions League campaign when they welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to San Siro for the final round of matches in Group B.
The Nerazzurri are currently bottom of the table with five points from 15 on offer, whereas Shakhtar currently sit second, but the top two spots are both still up for grabs.
Match preview
© Reuters
Inter Milan finally managed to prevail in a Champions League match at the fifth attempt last week, but it was not a convincing victory for Antonio Conte's men whatsoever.
The Serie A giants travelled to the Borussia-Park to take on a talented Borussia Monchengladbach side, and despite Alassane Plea's brace for the hosts, Romelu Lukaku bagged a double of his own after Matteo Darmian's opener to propel Inter to a 3-2 victory last Tuesday.
While that result ensured that Inter would not be exiting Europe's premier competition just yet, Conte's men are still up against it and will need Real Madrid or Monchengladbach to do them a massive favour if they are to have any hope of qualifying for the last 16.
Assuming that Inter beat Shakhtar, the Nerazzurri must hope that there is a victor in the other game in Group B to nab second spot. If Madrid and Monchengladbach play out a draw, Inter will be eliminated no matter what the result of their game is, and Conte's side will finish bottom if they fail to take maximum points.
Wednesday's hosts enjoyed a relatively simple 3-1 top-flight win over Bologna prior to this crucial game, with Achraf Hakimi bagging two goals after Lukaku struck his 12th of the season in all competitions.
© Reuters
Despite shipping a group-high 12 goals in the 2020-21 tournament, Shakhtar currently find themselves in the second qualification spot courtesy of two historic victories over Real Madrid.
Indeed, the 13-time European champions are the only team that Shakhtar have overcome in Group B so far, with a 3-2 triumph at the Alfredo Di Stefano preceding a 2-0 win on home soil for the Ukrainian giants last week.
Luis Castro's side will advance if they can etch their names into another page of the history books with a win at San Siro, and if Madrid fail to beat Monchengladbach, a draw would be enough for Shakhtar to book their place in the last 16.
The Ukrainian side recently won their third game in succession in all competitions as they trounced Minai 5-1 at the weekend - a result which sees them remain unbeaten in the top division - but Castro's men are three points behind current leaders Dynamo Kiev.
The first meeting between Shakhtar and Inter at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium this season ended in a goalless stalemate back in October.
Inter Milan Champions League form: DDLLW
Inter Milan form (all competitions): DWLWWW
Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League form: WDLLW
Shakhtar Donetsk form (all competitions): WDLWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Inter Milan midfielder Radja Nainggolan is struggling with a calf problem and is unlikely to feature, while Matias Vecino - who has been linked with a move elsewhere recently - has stepped up his recovery from a knee injury but will not be ready for Wednesday.
Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella and Ashley Young are all in line for recalls to the first XI, and Arturo Vidal is also back in the fold after missing the win over Monchengladbach through suspension.
Seven of Conte's men were cautioned at the Borussia Park and Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij and Roberto Gagliardini are now walking a tightrope, with each member of the quartet facing a one-match ban in Europe if they get booked again this week.
As for Shakhtar, Junior Moraes was forced off after 25 minutes in last week's win over Real Madrid, and the Ukraine international is likely to be out until 2021 with a thigh problem.
Moraes's replacement Dentinho scored Shakhtar's first against Los Blancos but the 31-year-old is touch-and-go with an unspecified issue, while Dodo and Tete should both return to the right-hand side.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Gagliardini, Barella, Brozovic, Young; Martinez, Lukaku
Shakhtar Donetsk possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Dodo, Vitao, Bondar, Matvienko; Stepanenko, Kovalenko, Marlos; Tete, Dentinho, Taison
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter would be making a fatal error if they were to underestimate a Shakhtar side who have already beaten Real Madrid twice, but the visitors have not produced the goods against the other teams in Group B yet. Conte's men are capable of turning up the heat when it matters most, and while this tie at San Siro is sure to be a hotly-contested battle, we think that Inter will just do enough to come out on top and hope that the result of the Madrid-Monchengladbach clash goes their way.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 57.78%. A draw had a probability of 22% and a win for Shakhtar Donetsk had a probability of 20.25%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.84%) and 2-0 (9.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.32%), while for a Shakhtar Donetsk win it was 1-2 (5.41%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.1% likelihood.
