Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be forced to field the same three defenders who played in their latest Serie A fixture as they travel to Bayer Leverkusen for a crucial Champions League clash.
Denzel Dumfries joined Francesco Acerbi, Tajon Buchanan and Benjamin Pavard among the sidelined players due to high fever, meaning Matteo Darmian will be deployed as a right wing-back, with Yann Bisseck, Stefan De Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni making the back-three.
The Nerazzurri coach is expected to make rotations in other departments, though, as Davide Frattesi and Piotr Zielinski are expected to flank Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield, while Carlos Augusto should replace Federico Dimarco on the left.
Mehdi Taremi looks set to start his sixth consecutive Champions League game up front, being paired with Marcus Thuram.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will be without top goalscorer Victor Boniface, but they should see former Roma striker Patrick Schick return in attack, as he should make the attacking duo alongside star Florian Wirtz.
Inter have been one of the strongest teams in this season’s league phase of the Champions League and they will be expected to put out another impressive performance when they travel to Germany to face reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
The Nerazzurri have won four of their opening five continental matches – the only blemish on their otherwise perfect record being a goalless draw at Manchester City on matchday one – and Simone Inzaghi’s men are currently on a 13 match unbeaten run, with 11 of these results ending in victory.
Leverkusen have also enjoyed a promising European campaign, winning three of their opening five matches and losing just once, and are currently on a five match winning run in all competitions – including a memorable 1-0 victory over Bayern in the DFB-Pokal.
While the hosts are in strong form, they will be without strikers Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick for this contest through injury and these absentees could hamper their chances of victory. Both sides have proven to be difficult to beat this season and so a draw looks the smart bet, with our prediction being a 1-1 tie.
Bayer Leverkusen (3-5-2): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapié; Frimpong, Palacios, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Schick, Wirtz.
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, de Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Carlos Augusto; Taremi, Thuram.
