Right. Second Leg Europa Qualifier. Let's Get This Done Already

Tomorrow Inter welcome Hadjuk to the San Siro in the return leg of the third round Europa League qualifiers. Inter have a commanding lead with 3 away goals scored in Split. It would be a real shame to not close this out already so we can get on with things.

Time: 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)

Place: San Siro, Milan. On some brand spanking new turf (check out the video under Fanshots)

TeeVee: Doesn't look like it. Streams it is.

LiveChat: Probably not. I know you are disappointed but these mid-afternoon weekday games are hard. I promise, we will be up and chatting our brains out for the Serie A. Really. Trust me.

via www.inter.it. Umm, I think we better hide the sharp things because it looks like Pazzini is thinking some stabby thoughts... at Guarin... Yikes.

I know we go into this game as the clear favorites and with a huge advantage, but that's the kind of talk that gets teams dumped from competitions. The minute Inter become complacent is when the brown stinky is going to hit the fan. Right now, I think it is best to just forget we come in at an advantage and play to win. That way, everyone is happy.

Stramaccioni's call-ups are entirely expected:

Goalkeepers: Handanovic, Castellazzi, Belec;

Defenders: Zanetti, Silvestre, Ranocchia, Samuel, Mbaye, Jonathan, Bianchetti, Nagatomo;

Midfielders: Sneijder, Guarin, Mudingayi, Cambiasso;

Forwards: Coutinho, Palacio, Milito, Longo, Livaja.

And I expect they will line up much the same as in Split a week ago - except this time Ranocchia will probably get the nod and Chivu is out (of course). La Gazzetta thinks Strama may let a couple of the younger players start. They think it will look like this:

Mbaye looked promising in the Trofeo Tim, but that was a friendly and I think he played less than 45 minutes. With Maicon still on the will-he-wont-he list and Chivu out injured, this may be his chance to really show his worth. Everyone else looks just peachy and I am thrilled to see Coutinho get the start. Now all we need is Milito to score a goal.

Ok, so I know this hardly counts as any sort of preview but really, what is there to say? If you haven't, you really should go check out Strama's pre-game presser (here and here). It is remarkably open and he says all the right sorts of things that coaches hardly ever do. I really hope that he gets the players he needs because I would hate for this one to get fired.

Anyway, I will be here for at least some of the game. I may have to follow along on my phone but I will do what I can.

FORZA INTER