Inter are heading into the key month of the season as the side coached by Simone Inzaghi will face a crucial Serie A game against Atalanta in less than two weeks and most importantly a two-legged UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Feyenoord. Despite the good results achieved, Inter have struggled over the last weeks also due to injuries and the latest one of Italian winger Federico Dimarco will force Inzaghi to make a l tactical change for the first time since he was appointed in the summer of 2021, but is the team ready for that?
The Nerazzurri had four injurieson the left wing over the last two weeks as Matteo Darmian, Nicola Zalewski, Carlos Augusto and the same Dimarco are all injured. The four players of the roster that could play in that key role of the 3-5-2 are all not available, at least for the first leg of the Champions League’s round of 16.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Mar. 5 | Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Stadion Feijenoord — Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Feyenoord +500; Draw +320; Inter -190
To cope with the injuries, Inzaghi was forced to make some unprecedented changes also during the 1-1 draw against Napoli played last Saturday. After Dimarco had to be replaced at the beginning of the second half, the team was a bit confused for a couple of minutes as Inzaghi asked to play with the 4-4-2, with right winger Denzel Dumfries on the left and French defender Benjamin Pavard playing on the right side of the midfield. The result of the first experiment wasn’t successful at all as Inter conceded a goal to Napoli and barely played in the attack, and as a matter of fact, they recorded a xG 0.00 in the second half at the Maradona.
The new change was probably a bit improvised and this is what Inzaghi had to work on before the away game on Wednesday, knowing he will be forced to play with a different system. Multiple reports across Italy suggest he will play with a 3-5-2 that also shifts to a 4-4-2 while defending, something new for the way Inter usually play. To make that happen, Inzaghi will take advantage of the attacking qualities of Alessandro Bastoni, who will play as a winger on the left but will also be called to become the left back when Inter defend.
Possible Inter XI: J. Martinez; Pavard, De Vrij, Acerbi; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Bastoni; L. Martinez, Thuram.
The performance of Bastoni and more generally the left side of the Inter team will likely determine the success of the Nerazzurri in the first leg in Rotterdam, and it can potentially work, even if a Champions League tie is not probably the best timing for making such a change. However, Feyenoord are also suffering a lot from injuries and it’s likely that Inter will push more to attack on the right side with Pavard and Dumfries, as they have already been playing together since last season and they are a solid duo.
Inter and Inzaghi’s main issue will arrive later in the game, when in the second half he won’t have any option on the left to replace Bastoni and defender Francesco Acerbi, who will play in the left side of the three-back defense. The Nerazzurri have to just manage in the first leg, hoping to recover some of their options for at least the second leg that will take place next Tuesday at San Siro, a few days before Atalanta visit for a key Serie A clash.
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