Schalke achieved quite a coup by winning the first leg 5:2 at Giuseppe Meazza and they are now very close to making it to the semi-finals. Inter, on the other hand, face an uphill task after the embarrassing performance in Italy, but the reigning champions definitely should not be written off.

Amazing win at Meazza

It was really impressive how a team with almost no European experience kept playing great football in the Champions League despite showing a lot of weakness on the domestic stage. Schalke not only qualified from the group stage, but they also eliminated very good Valencia side before recording amazing 5:2 victory against Inter and they are now just one step away from the semi-finals. The atmosphere in the team improved following the arrival of Ralf Rangnick, as witnessed by two straight league wins, so the hosts enter this match high on confidence. However, while the Germans did well to take advantage of some shocking mistakes by Inter players in the first leg, I really doubt they can produce another such performance since the Neroazzurri are superior to them in every aspect of the game. Ralf Rangnick’s inexperienced side are likely to have problems against very motivated Inter, although they should still manage to make it through.

Cristoph Metzelder, Anthony Annan, Peer Kluge, Mario Gavranovic, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Cristoph Moritz and Christian Pander are all unavailable.

Mission impossible for Inter?

Having recovered well from the poor start of the season under Rafa Benitez, Inter started producing excellent performances with Leonardo on the bench, and they were expected to mount a serious challenge for the Serie A and Champions League titles. However, back to back defeats to Milan and Schalke saw their title dreams go up in smoke, and the Neroazzurri now face an uphill task to win at least one trophy this season. The 5:2 defeat to Schalke was clearly a one-off result that won’t be repeated any time soon and if Inter players enter this game with the right mental approach they should have no problems showing who is the boss here. The Serie A win over Chievo restored some of the lost confidence and helped the players believe they can do the impossible and make it to the Champions League semi-finals. After beating Bayern at Alianz Arena, Inter could easily beat Schalke away.

Lucio returns from suspension, while Walter Samuel is included but is unlikely to feature. Sneijder, Milito and Motta will be restored to the starting line-up after getting some rest against Chievo, but Cristian Chivu is suspended.

Verdict

Schalke should be congratulated for what they did at Meazza, but there is no way they can beat Inter again. The Neroazzurri are not only superior to their opponents in all areas of the team, but they have much more experience at the biggest stage and they should be able to win this game.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 2.62 (13/8)

Bookmaker: 888Sport