Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi believes that the atmosphere at the San Siro will be a factor when his side face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this evening.
Speaking to InterTV ahead of the match, the coach gave his thoughts ahead of the vital head-to-head clash from which the Nerazzurri can potentially qualify for the round of sixteen in Europe’s top competition directly with a win.
Inter will go into this evening’s clash with a lot of confidence, having beaten league leaders Napoli to haul back the deficit from the top of the Serie A table to four points.
They know their quality, and moreover, they will be playing in front of their fans at their home ground.
Playing against Shakhtar will not be a task to be underestimated, but Inzaghi projected confidence ahead of the match, believing that the ingredients are there to get the desired result.
“The victory on Sunday gave us a lot of self-belief,” he stated, “it is a victory we wanted and tomorrow we have a very important match for continuing our season in the Champions League.”
“In the first leg both teams played a good match,” he went on, “they had more possession and we had better chances. We hope to be able to control the pace of the game to our benefit.”
On the possibility of some players being excluded on fitness grounds, the coach stated that “As far as the guys, I will have to evaluate those who asked to be substituted during Sunday’s match.”
“Clearly De Vrij, Sanchez and Satriano will not be there,” he added. “I hope to bring all the others even if there are some doubts, and then I will make my choice.”
And on the significance of playing the match at home, Inzaghi stated that “It matters a lot because we know what our fans give us and what San Siro gives us.”
“We hope that tomorrow, and I have absolutely no doubt that this will be the case, they will be there by our side to push us towards the objective that we have been awaiting for a long time, and which they have been awaiting for a long time as well.”
