Inter return to the Meazza on Wednesday 21 October with their Champions League league-phase campaign still waiting for its first lift. Cristian Chivu’s side have lost their opening two matches, against Real Madrid and Club Brugge, and Shakhtar Donetsk arrive in Milan with four points already secured from a draw with PSV and a win over AEK Athens.
The 21:00 meeting places Inter under an early European obligation. Domestic rhythm and the longer work of a season can absorb difficult afternoons, but two defeats in continental competition leave little room for another setback. Chivu has selected a side led by Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny in attack, with Nicolò Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Petar Sucic forming the central midfield group.
Chivu’s choices for a necessary home response
Josep Martinez starts in goal behind a three-man defensive line of Manuel Akanji, Alessandro Bastoni and Carlos Augusto. Djed Spence and Federico Dimarco are named on the flanks, while the bench includes Piotr Zielinski, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Luis Henrique and Francesco Pio Esposito.
Inter will be without John Stones, Curtis Jones, Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard. There are no suspensions or players one booking away from a ban listed for the Nerazzurri.
Arda Turan’s Shakhtar begin with Dmytro Riznyk in goal and a back four of Tobias, Valeriy Bondar, Mykola Matviienko and Pedro Henrique. Oleh Ocheretko is stationed ahead of the defence, with Alisson, Pedrinho, Marlon and Mendoza supporting Kaua Elias as the lone forward.
The Ukrainian club have Marlon Santos unavailable, but no suspended players or disciplinary concerns. Their substitutes include Lassina Traoré, Artem Kryskiv, Yukhym Konoplia, Newerton and Heorhiy Sudakov’s fellow midfield options in Nazaryna and Tsukanov.
For Inter, the evening is not simply another fixture on the calendar. It is an opportunity to turn a hesitant start in Europe into a campaign with direction, in front of a San Siro crowd that will expect the team to make home advantage count.
