Inter vs Porto Champions League round of 16 preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
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When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg between Inter and Porto.
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Inter and Porto meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday 22 February.
Inter vs Porto at a glance
When: Wednesday 22 February (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: Stadio San Siro, Milan
What: Champions League round of 16 first leg (second leg: 14 March)
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch Inter vs Porto on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Team-mates at Lazio in their playing days, Inter boss Simone Inzaghi and Porto coach Sérgio Conceição are on opposite sides at San Siro. Inter eliminated the Dragons in the round of 16 in 2004/05, and have yet to lose at home against Portuguese opponents, but the visitors can take courage from the fact that they have eliminated two Serie A sides (Roma in 2018/19 and Juventus in 2020/21) at this stage in recent seasons, though both ties went to extra time.
Starting line-ups
Inter: Onana; Škriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Dimarco; Martínez, Džeko
Misses next match if booked: Bastoni, Martínez
Porto: Diogo Costa; João Mário, Pepe, Marcano, Zaidu; Otávio, Uribe, Grujić, Galeno; Taremi, Pepê
Misses next match if booked: none
Squad changes
Inter
In: none
Out: Dennis Curatolo, Aleksandar Stanković
Porto
In: none
Out: none
Form guide
Inter
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDWWWL
Where they stand: 2nd in Serie A, Coppa Italia semi-finals
Porto
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWWWW
Where they stand: 2nd in Liga, Portuguese Cup semi-finals, Portuguese League Cup winners
Expert predictions
Paolo Menicucci, Inter reporter
Consistency has been an issue for Inter this term but the form of Lautaro Martínez (already on eight goals in all competitions in 2023) since returning from his triumphant FIFA World Cup campaign with Argentina can certainly give confidence to Inzaghi's team. The main question, however, is whether we will see the team that defeated Napoli on 4 January or the one that lost at home to Empoli 19 days later? Will it be Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde against Porto?
Luis Piedade, Porto reporter
Porto have never minded a bit of adversity, and the wave of injuries that has swept through the squad has certainly provided that. Sérgio Conceição has found solutions, though, and the Dragons still have plenty of fire in the belly – a run of nine consecutive victories is testament to that. In that time, Porto have chipped away at Benfica's lead at the Liga summit and collected the Portuguese League Cup.
What the coaches say
Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach: "We’re going into the last 16 full of confidence. It has been an incredible journey. We came through our group: on paper, Barcelona and Bayern were teams that everyone wanted to avoid. [Sergio Conceição] has organised Porto well and is doing great things. They are a very strong team."
Sérgio Conceição, Porto coach: "Inter are a strong team, full of great players and well-versed in playing at a high level week in, week out. Serie A is in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. We also know all about our own individual and collective quality, though."
Where is the 2023 Champions League final?
Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host the final on Saturday 10 June 2023.
The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.