Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Time- India: 12.30 AM (Tuesday), UK: 8.00 PM (Monday)
Venue- Merkur Spiel-Arena (Dusseldorf)
Inter Milan will lock horns with Shakhtar Donetsk in the first UEFA Europa League semi-final at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Monday night.
The Nerazzurri established a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in a one-off quarter-final clash earlier this week and will now be aiming to book their first European final spot since winning the UEFA Champions League under Jose Mourinho in the 2009-10 season.
Their Ukrainian opponents, on the other hand, secured a comfortable 4-1 victory over Basel in their previous fixture to seal a place in their third Europa League semi-final.
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Road to the semi-finals
Inter Milan
February 20, 2020: Ludogorets 0-2 Inter Milan
February 27, 2020: Inter Milan 2-1 Ludogorets
March 12, 2020: Inter Milan-Getafe (match cancelled)
August 5, 2020: Inter Milan 2-0 Getafe
August 10, 2020: Inter Milan 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Shakhtar Donetsk
February 20, 2020: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Benfica
February 27, 2020: Benfica 3-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
March 12, 2020: Wolfsburg 1-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
August 5, 2020: Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Wolfsburg
August 11, 2020: Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 Basel
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Head-to-head record
Total played: 2
Inter Milan won: 1
Shakhtar Donetsk won: 0
Draw: 1
Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk have only been drawn together once when they went head to head in a qualifier for the UEFA Champions League in the 2005-06 season.
Obafemi Martins and Adriano scored for the Nerazzurri in the first leg while Álvaro Recoba and Elano netted second-leg goals for the Serie A outfit and the Ukrainian Premier League giants respectively.
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Recent form
Inter Milan recent form (in all competitions): D-W-W-W-W-W
Shakhtar Donetsk recent form (in all competitions): W-W-W-W-W-W
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Team news
Inter Milan
Inter Milan will be without the services of Matías Vecino, who has been sidelined with a knee injury. Antonio Conte would also be concerned by Alexis Sanchez’s fitness ahead of the fixture as the Chilean picked up a hamstring strain in the quarter-final clash against Bayer Leverkusen.
Injuries: Matías Vecino
Doubtful: Alexis Sanchez
Shakhtar Donetsk
Luis Castro will have a fully fit squad to choose from as Davit Khocholava has finished serving his one-game suspension in the quarter-final clash against Basel.
Injuries: N/A
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Predicted XI
Inter Milan Predicted XI (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Diego Godin, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Roberto Gagliardini, Ashley Young; Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez
Shakhtar Donetsk Predicted XI (4-3-3): Andriy Pyatov; Dodo, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Valeriy Bondar, Mykola Matvienko; Marcos Antonio, Taras Stepanenko; Marlos, Alan Patrick, Taison; Junior Moraes
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Where to watch
India: Sony Ten 2/ Sony Ten 2 HD
UK: BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Live stream details
India: Sony Network’s SonyLiv app
UK: BT Sport app
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Prediction
Inter Milan will be keen to make up for their collapse in Serie A by bringing a European trophy back to Italy. However, they will have a highly experienced and free-scoring Shakhtar Donetsk team to overcome before they can make it to the final.
Having said that, Antonio Conte’s men appear to have found the consistency that they have been lacking all season and currently boast of a ten-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
While the Nerazzurri are the favourites heading into the encounter, their Ukrainian opponents are on an unbeaten run of their own- 11 games in all competitions- and are equally as capable of going all the way in the Europa League.
Both clubs boast plenty of firepower in their squads, which means there are a lot of players to be wary about in the final third. While Inter Milan have scored 8 goals in four outings in the Europa League, Shakhtar Donetsk have found the net 14 times in five outings in the tournament.
Shakhtar Donetsk top-scorer Junior Moraes has 26 goals to his name in all competitions this season, with three of them coming in the Europa League fixtures against Wolfsburg and Basel.
Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku, who will be keen on facing former club Manchester United in the final, has netted 31 goals in all competitions for Inter Milan.
The Belgian has scored in each of the four Europa League games this season and will likely be the difference-maker on Monday night.
Inter Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk final verdict: 2-1
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