Champions League | Round of 16 | 1st Leg

Mar 5, 2025 at 5.45pm UK

Stadion Feijenoord

Feyenoord vs Inter Milan

Match preview

Leading 1-0 at San Siro, Feyenoord defied the odds to hold on to their precious lead - with Pascal Bosschaart in charge following the brutal sacking of Brian Priske a few days earlier.

With a long list of absentees to contend with - and their opponents having just signed their star striker - the Rotterdam club saw Santiago Gimenez open the scoring early on, only for Milan's Theo Hernandez to be shown a second yellow card for diving.

With Feyenoord now down to 10 men, Gimenez's intended replacement, the flu-stricken Julian Carranza, came off the bench to score an equaliser and Bosschaart's side eventually progressed.

It was later announced that club legend Robin van Persie would become their third coach since the departure of Arne Slot, and the former striker has fond memories of his encounter with Inter. He featured for Feyenoord in both legs of the 2002 UEFA Cup semi-final between the two sides, on their way to lifting the trophy.

This season, injuries and mismanagement have seen the Eredivisie side field a record 36 players in the domestic competition, and they recently suffered three defeats in eight league games - as many as they had in the previous 50.

Since then, fourth-placed Feyenoord have gone on a six-match unbeaten run, starting with a goalless draw at home to NEC Nijmegen on Van Persie's debut.

Having reached the last 16 for the first time in the Champions League era, the 1970 European champions are now aiming to become only the fourth team to beat both Milan and Inter in the same continental competition.

With just one defeat in 12 home games against Serie A sides - including the 2001-02 clash with Inter - history suggests that they will take the lead again in the first leg.

While Wednesday's hosts needed a play-off, Inter finished fourth in the league phase to qualify directly for the last 16, conceding just one goal in eight games - fewer than any other team.

In fact, under Simone Inzaghi, they have kept a clean sheet in almost 60 per cent of their Champions League matches, the best record of any coach with at least 30 appearances in UEFA's top club competition.

In all competitions, the Nerazzurri have won 26 and lost just five of their 39 matches this season, recently overtaking Napoli in the race to retain the Serie A title.

When the Scudetto rivals met last weekend, a superb Federico Dimarco free-kick gave Inter a four-point lead with 11 rounds remaining, but they eventually conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 in Naples.

Despite a somewhat tired performance that saw them rely on last-ditch defending and lack bite in the final third, Inzaghi's men are still fighting on three fronts with a Coppa Italia semi-final against city rivals Milan next month.

Perhaps showing signs of wear and tear after several years of success, Inter have the oldest starting XI in the Champions League this season (29 years and 320 days), but with that comes plenty of experience.

The three-time European champions - and runners-up two years ago - have lost just three of their last 23 games in Europe's elite competition. They are also unbeaten in 11 games against the Dutch since that 2002 defeat at the hands of Feyenoord, and will be confident of overcoming the challenge.

Recent Performance

Feyenoord Champions League form:DWWLWD

Feyenoord form (all competitions):WWDDWD

Inter Milan Champions League form:WWWLWW

Inter Milan form (all competitions):LWLWWD

Team News

In the midst of an intense run of five games in 16 days, new Feyenoord boss Robin van Persie could turn to some of the club's young talent, such as Givairo Read and Zepiqueno Redmond, both of whom started at San Siro.

Read, however, will be serving a suspension on Wednesday, when as many as 11 players could be missing through injury. Hwang In-beom, Bart Nieuwkoop, Calvin Stengs, Gernot Trauner, striker Ayase Ueda, first-choice goalkeeper Justin Bijlow and captain Quinten Timber are all out, while midfielders Antoni Milambo and Jakub Moder are both doubtful.

However, Igor Paixao will be available to support lone striker Julian Carranza: the Brazilian winger has been directly involved in six goals in 10 Champions League games this season, a club record.

Meanwhile, Inter captain Lautaro Martinez could become his club's all-time top scorer in either the European Cup or the Champions League - 'El Toro' is currently level with Sandro Mazzola on 17 goals.

He will partner Marcus Thuram up front, but Simone Inzaghi will be without several full-backs - Carlos Augusto, Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco and Nicola Zalewski - due to muscular injuries.

First-choice goalkeeper Yann Sommer is also sidelined, but Dutch centre-back Stefan de Vrij is an option at the back - he joined Feyenoord as a 10-year-old more than two decades ago before enjoying a successful career in Italy.

None of Inter's players are suspended this week, but Nicolo Barella, Denzel Dumfries, Benjamin Pavard and Kristjan Asllani will miss the return leg if they are booked.

Possible starting lineup

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Wellenreuther; Mitchell, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Ivanusec, Moder, Smal; Hadj Moussa, Carranza, Paixao

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

J. Martinez; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Pavard, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dumfries; L. Martinez, Thuram