Feyenoord vs Inter Milan

De Kuip is the venue as Feyenoord and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the first leg of their exciting Champions League last-16 tie.

Through to the knockout stages of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 50 years, Feyenoord made a statement win in the previous round, beating Inter’s fierce rivals AC Milan 2-1 on aggregate. A 1-0 win at De Kuip marked Feyenoord’s third consecutive home victory in the Champions League, including a 3-0 rout of runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. ‘De Stadionclub’ could become only the fourth team to beat both Milan clubs in the same season. Despite facing long odds, Robin Van Persie’s charges can draw confidence from a sterling historic record against Serie A teams on home soil (W7, D4, L1). Yet, Van Persie’s touchline debut was far from impressive, with Eredivisie minnows NEC Nijmegen holding Feyenoord to a scoreless draw here.

On the other hand, Inter Milan held fellow Scudetto hopefuls Napoli to a 1-1 draw despite failing to produce a single shot in the second half. Back to the Champions League, where they conceded only one goal in a near-flawless league phase campaign (W6, D1, L1), Inter will be out to avenge a painful defeat in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup semi-finals. Confidence comes from their scintillating 11-match unbeaten streak against Dutch opposition (W7, D4). However, Simone Inzaghi’s side cannot take anything for granted after winning none of their last four away matches (D2, L2) whilst averaging a miserable 0.5 goals per game.