Real Madrid vs Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sixteen years aft inspiring Inter Milan to Champions League glory, Jose Mourinho's ngo to pb Real Madrid to European Cup fig 16 commences connected Tuesday, erstwhile the Nerazzurri sojourn the Bernabeu successful the league phase.

Neither continental colossus lived up to expectations successful the 2025-26 tournament, successful which Real were eliminated by Bayern Munich successful the quarter-finals, aft Inter's daze playoff exit to Bodo/Glimt.

Match preview

The Special One, successful the peculiar tournament, seeking different peculiar infinitesimal - 1 that could rival some Inter's momentous 2010 occurrence nether his helping oregon the astonishing Anatoliy Trubin goalkeeper extremity for Benfica against Mourinho's existent nine conscionable a substance of months ago.

The Portuguese's 2025-26 Champions League tally yet ended astatine the hands of Real Madrid successful the knockout circular playoffs, but the record-extending 16th UCL crown inactive eluded Los Blancos, who person fallen astatine the past 8 signifier 2 years running.

Losing their presumption arsenic Europe's apical dogs to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid's tally to the second signifier of the contention volition not beryllium a cakewalk; Arsenal, RB Leipzig, Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk - astatine Mourinho's erstwhile location Stamford Bridge - each prevarication successful hold successful the league signifier too.

However, accelerated starts successful Europe are Los Blancos' forte, arsenic the hosts person won 17 of their past 19 matchday 1 fixtures successful the Champions League, including each of their past 5 since a 3-2 nonaccomplishment against nary different than Shakhtar successful 2020.

Mourinho's men besides kicked disconnected their La Liga play with 3 consecutive wins against Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Malaga, but ongoing fragilities were exposed successful Friday's 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Real Betis, successful which Kylian Mbappe's punishment miss capped disconnected a "selfish" show from Real's apical scorer.

Despite person than Real Madrid to lifting Europe's premier prize since Los Blancos' 2024 coronation, Inter person been yet to replicate their 2010 triumph, collecting 2 pairs of runners-up medals successful the past 4 tournaments.

While the Nerazzurri could caput location from their 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Manchester City successful 2023 with heads held high, 2 differing humiliations followed; the 5-0 embarrassment to PSG successful 2025 and elephantine sidesplitting astatine the hands of Bodo/Glimt past season.

Head manager Cristian Chivu was astatine the helm for that embarrassing 5-2 aggregate nonaccomplishment to the Norwegian upstarts, but the Romanian's players dazzled domestically, taking location a Serie A and Coppa Italia treble for the archetypal clip since the famed Mourinho 2009-10 season.

The visitors person shown fewer signs of weakness successful their rubric defence frankincense acold too, taking 9 points from 9 against Monza, Cagliari and Napoli, albeit portion needing an injury-time Lautaro Martinez victor to seal a melodramatic 3-2 comeback triumph against the latter.

However, Inter are inactive searching for their archetypal triumph implicit Real Madrid successful the existent millennium, having mislaid 4 successful a enactment - including their past 3 without scoring - to Los Blancos since a 3-1 triumph successful precocious 1998.

Real Madrid signifier (all competitions):

Inter Milan signifier (all competitions):

Team News

A caller play does not mean a cleanable slate connected the suspension front, and Real Madrid are without nary less than 3 players owed to bans carried implicit from past season; Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva.

To marque midfield matters worse, Aurelien Tchouameni is simply a large uncertainty owed to muscular discomfort, truthful Jude Bellingham whitethorn driblet deeper to articulation Federico Valverde successful the treble pivot.

Eder Militao (hamstring), Rodrygo (knee), Ferland Mendy (hamstring) and Thiago Pitarch (knee) are besides absent, portion Raul Asencio (tibia), Endrick (muscle) and Marc Cucurella (calf) volition request checking over.

On the different hand, Inter boast a cleanable measure of wellness barring caller enlistee Djed Spence, who is inactive gathering his fittingness backmost up aft an unspecified wounded and whitethorn not beryllium risked conscionable yet.

Chivu's substitutes changed the crippled against Napoli, including Curtis Jones, who was heralded by the Italian media arsenic Chivu faces calls to bring the ex-Liverpool antheral into the XI astatine Petar Sucic's expense.

Marcus Thuram whitethorn besides beryllium rewarded for his equaliser against Napoli with a commencement implicit Pio Esposito, portion Hakan Calhanoglu ought to person his oculus connected Piotr Zielinski's midfield spot.

Real Madrid imaginable starting lineup:

Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Bellingham, Valverde; Diomande, Diaz, Vinicius Jr; Mbappe

Inter Milan imaginable starting lineup:

Martinez; Bastoni, Bisseck, Akanji; Diouf, Barella, Jones, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram

We say: Real Madrid 2-2 Inter Milan

Inter person failed to triumph their past 13 distant games against Spanish teams - past triumphing implicit Valencia successful the 2004-05 radical signifier - but Chivu's men should consciousness a aureate accidental against a depleted Real Madrid midfield.

The Nerazzurri's backline is not arsenic watertight arsenic erstwhile Inter iterations, though, truthful Mourinho's stacked onslaught tin occurrence backmost conscionable arsenic powerfully successful a blockbuster Bernabeu draw.

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