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Thursday’s match-up between Inter Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League round of 16 will feature the only match involving two former winners of the trophy.
Frankfurt won the trophy in 1980 while Inter captured the cup in 1981, 1994 and 1998.
But all of that can be put aside as the teams will square up in what is considered the toughest round of 16 match-ups this season.
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Inter Milan team news
Welp, no Mauro Icardi … again.
But, that should come as no surprise to Inter fans as it isn’t likely we will see Icardi until … well, who knows when.
The Nerazzurri will also likely be without Keita Balde who is still recovering from injury.
On Wednesday, Inter also announced that Radja Nainggolan will also miss the match due to an injury sustained in practice.
| ESAMI@OfficialRadja si è sottoposto questa mattina a risonanza magnetica presso l’Istituto Clinico Humanitas di Rozzano a causa di un problema riscontrato in allenamento.
— Inter (@Inter) March 6, 2019
Gli accertamenti hanno evidenziato una distrazione al gemello mediale della gamba sinistra.#Fcim
This will likely lead to Andrea Ranocchia earning a start in the match. Ranocchia picked up a goal in Inter’s 4-0 second-leg win over Rapid Wien.
In addition to the absences, Inter Milan will have to overcome a string of misfortune that saw them only come out of Fiorentina with a draw followed by a loss at Cagliari last Friday.
That series has left Inter in fourth in Serie A, just inside the Champions League positions for next season, adding pressure to Luciano Spalletti’s side to earn a positive result.
On the defensive side, one question could be whether Southampton loanee Cedric Soares will start or come off the bench. The latest news suggests Inter will not be spending the €11 million this summer to redeem him.
Inter have won 22 matches against German clubs — roughly 48 percent of all their matches — with eight draws and 16 losses, if history means anything … which is really doesn’t in this case.
I would expect Spalletti to come out with Matteo Politano, Ranocchia and Ivan Perisic in an attacking midfield with Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino back in defense.
Inter’s attacking options will be down to Lautaro Martinez — who picked up a goal in the 2-1 loss at Cagliari over the weekend.
Frankfurt does have a potent offense, scoring 47 goals in 24 Bundesliga matches this season. In the Europa League, Die Adler had a goal differential of plus-12, tied with Sevilla for best in the group stages.
It will pose a difficult test for Inter’s defense which is still one of the best in Serie A – giving up just 22 goals in 26 matches, third-best in the league.
Possible lineup: Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Skriniar, de Vrij, Asamoah; Brozovic, Vecino; Politano, Ranocchia, Perisic; Martinez
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Eintracht Frankfurt news
Frankfurt will be without Timothy Chandler for the match after the defender suffered an injury during preseason training.
The club also confirmed they will be without forward Ante Rebic, who suffered a knee injury in last weekend’s 3-2 win at home against Hoffenheim.
#Update: Ante #Rebic, who twisted his knee against Hoffenheim, has travelled to Belgrade to see a specialist. The Croatian will therefore miss Thursday's game against Inter. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Ante! #SGEuropa pic.twitter.com/LTs9Jp7Zzy
— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) March 5, 2019
Midfielder Gelson Fernandes, however, is expected to return to the lineup after suffering a mild hamstring sprain, but could only come off the bench if needed.
Currently, Die Adler sit fifth in the German Bundesliga, three points back of Borussia Monchengladback and five points away from third-place RB Leipzig.
Their current run of form has been impressive, winning their last three across all competitions. In fact, Frankfurt has not lost a match since a 1-0 defeat at Flamengo back on Jan. 12.
However, that can be a bit deceiving as of their last 11 matches, Frankfurt has drawn in five of them.
But, they do have an impressive record at home in this season’s Europa League – winning all four matches, including a 4-1 thrashing of Lazio in the group stage.
The main attacker for Frankfurt is Sebastien Haller who comes into the match with 12 goals in the Bundesliga – third-best – and nine assists – second-best. Haller is also a threat in duels and aerials as he leads in both categories in the Bundesliga.
Frankfurt is also very aggressive in its attack, scoring 47 goals in the Bundesliga — tied for second with Hoffenheim — with just 284 shots on the season.
In addition to Haller is Filip Kostic who leads the league with 100 crosses from open play.
Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp is fifth in the league in shots saved with 82.
As a team, Frankfurt is one of the fastest in the Bundesliga, completing 6,027 sprints in league play.
Possible lineup: Trapp; Abraham, Hinteregger, Hasebe; Da Costa, Rode, Kostic, Fernandes; Gacinovic; Haller, Jovic
Match information
Time and Date: 12:55 p.m. ET (5:55 p.m. local) Thursday, March 7, 2019
Location: Commerzbank-Arena (Frankfurt, Germany)
How to watch: In the United States, the match will be shown live on Bleacher Report Live, Univision NOW, Univision Deportes En Vivo and UniMas. In the United Kingdom, you can watch the match live on BT Sport ESPN and BT Sport Live. If you are in Italy, the match can be viewed on RSI La 2, Sky Calcio 2, Sky Sport Uno and Sky Go Italia.
Click here to see how you can watch the match from anywhere in the world.
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