Inter might have been dominating Serie A with ease and comfort but when it comes to performing in the Champions League, the Nerazzurri have been a huge disappointment. They might have won the Scudetto for the past four seasons in a row but for the last three years they have not gone beyond the Round of 16 in Europe's premier club competition.
Interestingly, in the last two years Inter have fallen to English opposition. In 2007-08 it was Rafael Benitez's Liverpool who knocked them out of Europe's most prestigious club competition while last year eventual finalists Manchester United defeated them 2-0 on aggregate in the pre-quarter finals. This time too the Beneamata have a Premier League side to contend with and it will be interesting to see how they cope, especially as Jose Mourinho will be on the bench against his former club.
Inter's form has taken a dip towards the south too in recent times. Their fiery, controversy-laden 0-0 draw with Sampdoria on Saturday night was their third draw in a row in the league and the second Serie A match in succession in which they have failed to score. Roma's and Milan's respective victories at the weekend mean that Inter's lead at the top of the table has now been trimmed to five points, which could be down to four if Milan win their game in hand against Fiorentina on Wednesday evening.
However, Jose Mourinho's side cannot be dismissed until the final whistle has been blown at Stamford Bridge in the second leg. Perhaps Chelsea will start the tie as slight favourites but Inter haven't lost at home yet this season - in fact, the last time Mourinho lost any domestic home game was way back in 2002 - and this time they have a more compact, well-knit team that is not over-reliant on any one particular player. Of course, except Wesley Sneijder, the former European champions do not have a single world class ball-playing midfielder but their two main strikers Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito are exceptional and Inter should give themselves a good chance of destabilising a strong Chelsea defensive unit.
Basking In Hope And Expectations
Chelsea might be a 'nouveau riche' club with not much European pedigree but they have certainly been more prominent and successful in Europe than Inter since the turn of the century. The Premier League side have failed to make it to the semi-finals only once in the past six years and reached the final in 2008.
Last season the Blues were knocked out of the competition on the away goals rule. Guus Hiddink's side did a great job in restricting Barcelona from scoring in the first leg of their semi-final tie at Camp Nou and although they took the lead at Stamford Bridge in the ninth minute, Chelsea conceded an injury time equaliser to go out on the away goals rule.
Therefore, this time Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea will be more motivated and eager to perform in the Champions League. They have been doing great in the Premier League and went four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table at the weekend with a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home. The Blues' defence has been superbly watertight this term, as they have shipped in just 22 goals in 27 matches in the league and four in six in the group stage of the Champions League.
However, Chelsea haven't come up against very stiff competition in Europe so far this campaign. Inter were drawn in a group that was comprised of the domestic champions of Spain, Italy, Ukraine and Russia, and they still managed to progress through to the knockout stages, finishing just two points behind Barcelona, while the only truly competitive team that Chelsea had to face in their group was Porto.
Ancelotti knows all about the current Inter side, having been involved in several games against them during his eight-year coaching tenure with Milan. The Italian will also be aware that Inter can be cynically defensive at times at home in order to not concede any goals, but with Didier Drogba in red-hot form the 50-year-old will expect his side them to score at San Siro on Wednesday night.
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