Inter vs Liverpool

Hard game to call, if we can score it all over, but we are playing the best team in Italy at home...

i'm going to the game with my 2 sons, been a few years since i have been to the San Siro.


1-1 Draw

My favorit Liverpool.
1-2

(I'm Fenerbahçe Fan)

Liverpool are in good form. But i think, Inter will win the match and equal the aggregate scores, but Liverpool will go through to the Quarter-finals by means of Away goals i think. So 3-1 to Inter IMO.

If Inter will be able to get even a draw from this match I'd be very surprised. These days they're playing an awful football. Yesterday they played Reggina at San Siro and Inter did counter attack all the game winning 2-0 just for a penalty (that shouldn't be a penalty but a freekick from the penalty box line) and a header from a freekick. Don't be scared of the results they collected these past 2 months because they're inflated with bad decisions by the refs. I think Liverpool will win this one easily

This is the one we've (Liverpool fans) all been waiting for, and it's now under three days away.

With Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all progressing, in varying fashions, the pressure is upon us to comfirm a quartet of English clubs make the quarter-finals' draw on Friday... And in doing so, confirm a staggering fact of there being just two sides from either Spain or Italy amongst the last eight of the competition. To do it, we'll have to pull off a world class performance, and yet another famous European night.

Of course we remain in the driving seat - following the last-gasp 2-0 triumph at Anfield three weeks ago. We can take heed in that match; regardless of Materazzi's harsh sending off, we dominated the game when they were down to 10 men and when they were at 11 men also. The only worry arised in our ability to create, with Torres' glorious opportunity amongst the very few chances aside from the goals. But with Materazzi out for obvious reasons, and Iván Córdoba, their most astute defender on the night, injured, we have greater scope to prise them open. Especially as they have to attack us, leaving space in abundance.

Nevertheless, we'll need to be 100% focussed in our defending, every player depicting the gritty determination of Jamie Carragher and Javier Mascherano combined, compounded with the flawless solidity of veteran Sami Hyypia and emerging star Martin Skrtel. We need to defend like we heroically did against Chelsea in either semi-finals' second legs - do that and we'll progress.

My team to eliminate the Italian giants:

---------------------------------- Reina ---------------------------------

------ Arbeloa ------ Carragher ------- Hyypia ------- Aurelio ------

------------------------ Alonso ------- Mascherano -------------------

------- Kuyt ----------------- Gerrard -------------------- Babel -----

-------------------------------- Torres ----------------------------------

Subs: Martins, Skrtel, Riise, Lucas, Benayoun, Pennant, Crouch


The defence is the same as it was against Inter in the home leg, save for Spaniard Arbeloa replacing Steve Finnan. Assuming the former Ireland international is still injured, else i'd have him starting owing to his exemplary showing in the first leg. Then i'd switch Arbeloa to left-back for a more solid back line. As it is, we'll be looking between Aurelio and Riise for that spot - and for me Riise making a couple of mistakes against Newcastle will no doubt have put him out of the running. We can't afford lapses in concentration versus the Serie A leaders. In the centre i'm sure Hyypia's experience will prevail, despite Skrtel's hugely impressive start to his Liverpool tenure.

The midfield is the same as it was against Inter in the home leg also, save for Xabi Alonso deputising for Lucas Leiva. Given the little first-team run the Spaniard has had i'd expect him to feature here, with his experience telling the decisive factor, 'cause to be frank, neither have overly impressed me of late. Xabi is perhaps more defensive too, which should suit this match. I was tempted to go with Benayoun or Pennant on the right-wing, thinking in terms of our speed-of-counter, but Kuyt's dogged fighter-like style should be very important in not allowing Inter to play, so i eventually settled for him. Babel, Gerrard and Mascherano, if fit (the Argentine is still a minor doubt), will automatically start i'm sure. If we don't have Masch back i'd be extremely concerned though.

And then attack is attack, with Torres obviously playing. Although i did dwell on starting Crouch, given that the Inter Milan defence couldn't cope with him at all at Anfield and the fact Torres hardly ever scores away from home. But El Nino's pace and ability to do things himself will be absolutely invaluable when we're camped in our penalty area (as we inevitably will be for large portions of the game), needing an outlet. In the past we've just thumped it up and watched as it sailed back in our direction, but if we can get the ball to Torres, or indeed Gerrard or Babel for that matter, we should be able to make some sort of a counter-attack.

Probably the biggest match of our season to date, is this, and you can bet your life i'm not going to predict the outcome. I wouldn't want to tempt fate. I am slightly nervous about our chances, but it's ours to lose, and against Barcelona, Juventus and Chelsea x2 we've pulled it off exceptionally well, and this is a far better position to be in than we were in during those fixtures. Our two goal lead means Inter can't go gung-ho for 90 minutes, because we could kill the game with an away goal, and that assuages a certain amount of harbouring fear.

It'll be another nail-biting tie of epic proportions, i'm sure. And i can’t bloody wait.

Mascherano has travelled to Italy.

cmon you Reds

As long as we dont do our usual "panic stations" or concede an early goal I think we should be ok. 0-0 or a 1 nil loss.

There are two ways to play this tie from a Liverpool point of view. Sit back and soak up the Inter pressure, hoping to catch them on the counter. Or start the game with a high tempo hoping to pinch an early goal and thus effectively killing the tie, because Inter will not come back and score 4 goals in my opinion.

I reckon Benitez will go for the former method of play as he'll expect Inter to go at them from the off anyway, all guns blazing. But he'll set his team up to counter quickly to give Torres the ball so he can use his pace to exploit Inter's defence.

I can't see Inter winning 3-0 or 4-1 so it's a dead rubber as far as I'm concerned - Liverpool are through. But I'll predict a 2-1 Inter win.

a think Liverpool are goin 2 do enough to get get through, inter 2 win 1-0

(Double post)

I think it'll be a combination of the two. We'll probably start off very quick, get at them for the first 10-20 minutes and try and nick a goal... If we don't after going relatively hell for leather we'll sit back and play it counter-attacking. At least i hope so. I fear if we just try and contain them for 90 minutes we'll slip behind, perhaps twice... The fortunate thing here though is that we have an excellent outlet in Torres to relieve pressure, which we haven't had before.

It's far from over though. A 2-0 lead from Inter means they're level with us, and that's enough... To take it to extra-time and penalties at least. But if that's how they go through then it all counts.

I have this horrible feeling that they will win 2-0 and then go through in extra-time to be honest.

Oh and Xabi Alonso is out of the match because his wife is due to give birth. He would have been handy to have but he's not been great of late, so it's not disastrous... Lucas will come in and do a decent job i'm sure.

Not only that but Babel's pace will also be a huge bonus for us. He has been improving constantly week in week out with his basics, something earlier in the season he was getting very wrong. Looks like will be a dangerous player next season. Hopefully his improvement will continue tomorrow.

Also, i thought Mascherano was out of this tie? Injured?

I am quite confident, which is a strange feeling to have for me when we're in Europe, even with our record. i think we might even get a win like at the Camp Nou last year.

I'll be watching this one excitedly for once, shaping up to be a good game given all of the circumstances.

Prediction right now considering the form Liverpool are in would be 1-1 and I think that would be a very good result in the San Siro.

Mind you, if Inter were to turn it around I wouldn't be tearing my hair out

Aye, i think i mentioned that in my first post. Once him, Torres or Gerrard gets the ball we should be able to make a rapid break away... They'll eventually be pouring forward, as the game goes on, and already have a fractured defence as it is.



Nope. Well, he's travelled, so assumedly he's fit to play. He was probably just not risked against Newcastle - i don't think it was anything too serious.



I think everything’s sitting up quite nicely for us. Inter are entering some poor form whilst we are topping the form table for England - they have two of their most astute defenders out while our two most prominent scorers are in some hellish form together. And of course, we lead by 2 goals, meaning we're in absolute control.

Sadly, it seems too good - and that makes me a little anxious.

Italian teams aren't usually set up to go all out attack going for the kill,but on this occasion they have no choice so they will be playing into our hands so we can pick them at will with the pace of Gerrard,Torres and Babel,i'm confident that we'll progress from this one

Everyone's making mistakes, which is making it an end-to-end game.

Tense as hell!

refs cut off inter..

Inter down to 10 again.