Impressive showings on the travels helped Inter qualify for the Europa League group stages, but the Neroazzurri will have to show improvement in their home form if they are to win this match.

Rubin Kazan may be struggling in domestic championship, but they are always difficult to beat on European travels.

The 6th-place finish in Serie A saw Inter enter Europa League qualifying rounds at an early stage, but the Neroazzurri successfully eliminated both Hajduk Split and Vaslui to make it to the group stages.

Both times, away wins in the first leg proved decisive as Andrea Stramaccioni’s side couldn’t win the return matches, and they remain winless at Giuseppe Meazza this season.

The match against Rubin looks like a perfect opportunity to finally win the game in front of their own fans, with William Hill paying as much as 1.91 (10/11) on home win.

With the league game against Siena in mind, Andrea Stramaccioni is set to rest some of the starters on Thursday evening, namely Wesley Sneijder, Fredy Guarin, Walter Gargano and Antonio Cassano.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-2-1): Castelazzi – Zanetti, Samuel, Silvestre, Nagatomo – Pereira, Cambiasso, Alvarez – Palacio, Coutinho – Milito.

Rubin Kazan have become regular in European competitions over the years and they were stopped in the Europa League last 32 stage last season.

The Russian giants started the new season with a significantly reinforced squad, given that Salomon Rondon, Gokhan Tore, Pablo Orbaiz and Ivan Marcano arrived in the summer.

As a result, Rubin enjoyed a bright start to the season, beating Zenit in the Russian Super Cup and winning three of their first four league games, but the team have since suffered a small dip in form.

Having lost three of their last four games, the Tatars have little to hope for before the trip to Giuseppe Meazza.

Playmaker Carlos Eduardo made his first appearance after almost two years after recovering from a knee injury, but he will now make way for striker Salomon Rondon.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Ryzhikov – Kuzmin, Navas, Marcano, Ansaldi – Eremenko, Natcho – Karadeniz, Dyadyun, Kasaev – Rondon.