Edin Dzeko is slight favourite to start in attack for Inter in this evening’s Champions League clash with Benfica, ahead of Romelu Lukaku.
This according to Italian news outlet Gazzetta.it, , who report that the 37-year-old Bosnian international is the player who Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi is leaning towards to start alongside Lautaro Martinez in the quarterfinal second leg clash.
Whilst Martinez is set to start in attack tomorrow, Inter coach Inzaghi will have a decision on his hands as far of which out of Dzeko or Lukaku starts alongside the Argentine.
The Bosnian has started in each of the Nerazzurri’s past three knockout matches in the competition this season, but Lukaku has come off the bench in each occasion, scoring against both of Porto and then, last week, Benfica.
Meanwhile, Lukaku started in Saturday evening’s Serie A match against Monza, a 0-1 loss for the Nerazzurri, whilst Dzeko came off the bench in that match.
In any event, the Gazzetta report that Inzaghi has yet to make up his mind as to which of the pair will start against Benfica as the Nerazzurri seek to finish the job following a 2-0 win over the Portuguese league leaders in the first leg.
However, the coach is reportedly leaning towards former Roma and Manchester City man Dzeko.
Meanwhile, in midfielder, the Gazzetta reports that it is Marcelo Brozovic who is favourite to keep his starting spot at the base of the trio alongside Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the first leg, even though Hakan Calhanoglu is fully fit and will be part of the squad.
In defense, Stefan de Vrij is reportedly not likely to feature, having picked up an ankle injury during the Nerazzurri’s match against Monza over the weekend.
Milan Skriniar will also miss the match as he continues to recover from a back injury.
