Inter v Celtic preview

If the second leg of FC Internazionale Milano is anything like the first, this will be a UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie to remember.

What they say
Roberto Mancini, Inter coach: "We've had the best possible preparation for tomorrow's match because we're coming off the back of some great performances and results. Having said that, we mustn't let our guard down. It's not going to be a simple task; we need to have total concentration and not give anything away. Celtic are a team that never give an inch."

Ronny Deila, Celtic manager: "It will be tough. We need to get up to our top level and if we have a bit of luck we have a chance. We have everything to win. A lot of what we did in the home match was good but we need to defend better. We know we can do better than in the last game against Inter and if we do that we will be hard to beat. If we can get a historic win here it will be the moment of our lives."

Previous meetings
• The sides met for the fourth time in the opening instalment in Glasgow, drawing 3-3 following a 93rd-minute John Guidetti equaliser for Celtic. Inter were 2-0 to the good inside 13 minutes, but the hosts were back on level terms midway through the first half. Rodrigo Palacio's effort before the break looked to have wrapped up the win for Inter, but Guidetti had the final word.

• Jock Stein's Celtic beat Helenio Herrera's Inter 2-1 in the 1967 European Champion Clubs' Cup final, but that defeat was avenged in a fashion in the 1971/72 semi-finals, Giovanni Invernizzi's Inter overcoming Stein's Celtic 5-4 on penalties at Parkhead after two 0-0 draws.

• The teams for that final on 25 May 1967 were:
Celtic: Simpson, Craig, McNeill, Clark, Gemmell, Murdoch, Auld, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, Lennox.
Inter: Sarti, Picchi, Burgnich, Guarneri, Facchetti, Bedin, Bicicli, Corso, Domenghini, Mazzola, Cappelini.

• The teams for the sides' previous Milan clash, on 5 April 1972,  were:
Inter: Vieri, Bellugi, Facchetti, Bertini, Oriali, Burgnich, Jair, Pellizzaro (Ghio 71), Boninsegna, Mazzola, Frustalupi.
Celtic: Williams, Craig, Brogan (McCluskey 63), Murdoch, McNeill, Connelly, Johnstone, Dalglish, Macari, Callaghan, Lennox.

Form guide
• Celtic have not won in their last eight games against Italian opposition (D3 L5).

• Inter are unbeaten at home against Scottish sides (W3 D1), and have conceded only once in those fixtures.

• Celtic have yet to win in 11 visits to Italy (D3 L8).

• Inter are unbeaten in ten European home games (W6 D4) since a 2-0 loss to HNK Hajduk Split in August 2012.

• Celtic are without a win in five European away games (D3 L2) since a 1-0 win at KR Reykjavík in this season's UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.

Trivia and links
• Celtic's Jo Inge Berget and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovič were Udinese Calcio team-mates from 2008–11, though the forward never made a senior appearance for the club, spending much of his time on loan back in Norway.

• Celtic's Stefan Šćepović has played in Serie A, making two appearances for UC Sampdoria during a loan spell in 2010.

• Inter defender Jonathan turns 29 the day after the Celtic decider.

• Celtic and Legia Warszawa have had the longest European campaigns of the round of 32 contenders; having both kicked off their 2014/15 seasons in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, they enter the round of 32 having already played 12 European matches.

• Celtic (Scotland) are one of seven reigning domestic champions in the round of 32, along with Legia Warszawa (Poland), Aalborg BK (Denmark), Olympiacos FC (Greece), FC Salzburg (Austria), RSC Anderlecht (Belgium), and AFC Ajax (Netherlands).

• Inter (1991, 1994 and 1998) are among 11 former UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League winners in the round of 32.

• Inter (1964, 1965 and 2010) and Celtic (1967) are among six last-32 contenders who have also won the European Cup or UEFA Champions League, along with Feyenoord (1970), Ajax (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995), Liverpool FC (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005) and PSV Eindhoven (1988).

The coaches
• In charge at Inter following Walter Mazzarri's dismissal in November, Roberto Mancini also coached the side from 2004 to 2008, winning three Serie A titles and two national cups. A forward, most notably for Sampdoria and SS Lazio, he was capped 36 times by Italy, with recent coaching adventures taking him to Manchester City FC – where he won the 2011/12 Premier League – and Galatasaray AŞ.

• Celtic boss Ronny Deila was appointed by the Hoops in June 2014 following a successful stint at Strømsgodset IF in his native Norway. The former Odd Grenland and Viking FK defender led the Drammen-based team to the 2010 Norwegian Cup and, in 2013, to their first league crown since 1970.