Feyenoord vs. Inter Milan: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

In what otherwise could have been an interesting tie, Feyenoord are suffering with so many injuries to important players that this tie feels close to a foregone conclusion. Inter are extremely competent and are the best side in Italy, so while Feyenoord will no doubt still put up a fight, the visitors should take this one. Feyenoord 0-1 Inter Milan.

Feyenoord are looking to spring another shock in the Champions League as they take on Italian side Inter Milan in the last 16.

• Date: 05/03/2025
• Kick-off time: 17:45
• Location: De Kuip, Rotterdam

Feyenoord are having a very turbulent season on the whole but the Champions League has been somewhat of a refuge for the Dutch club, who have gone well beyond what their league showings would suggest they should.

Feyenoord have already downed one Milan club in this competition this season after beating AC Milan 2-1 on aggregate. The Eredivisie club were not expected to progress from that and especially in the second leg, they were extremely depleted by injuries and absences.

The Dutch club parted ways with manager Brian Priske in February after some questionable results, and after Pascal Bosschaart oversaw an interim period, former striker Robin van Persie has now taken the job on a permanent basis. Van Persie was previously managing at Heerenveen and while he didn't do a bad job there, there is a lot of scepticism surrounding his appointment at Feyenoord.

Van Persie's time in Rotterdam got off to a relatively poor start at the weekend, with his side being held to a draw, but if he can guide his team to a win here, the mood around the club will be on cloud nine.

Inter Milan come into this game top of Serie A with 58 points. Simone Inzaghi's side are after a second straight league title and having lost in the final of this competition two years ago, they'll feel as though they've got unfinished business.

Arguably, Inter are on the kinder side of the Champions League draw with Real Madrid, Liverpool and PSG all on the other side, so despite still being amongst some fearsome competition, such as Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they'll fancy their chances of reaching the final once again.

It remains to be seen whether or not Inter have the quality to see off the best opponents the continent has to offer, though. Inter have Lautaro Martínez leading the line, but they are quite short of elite-level match-winners, and much of their success comes from the fine work of Inzaghi. Despite reaching the final in 2023, Inter haven't won a two-legged knockout tie against one of the traditional big guns of European football since beating Bayern Munich over two legs back in 2011. If they want to reach the final this time around, chances are they'll need to get through one of Barcelona or Bayern Munich over two legs.

Regardless, though, they're the heavy favourites to go through here, but they should aim to avoid complacency because the Dutch side have already proven capable of delivering stubborn performances.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 2.

Feyenoord Team News:

Feyenoord once again have a mammoth injury list, with Quinten Timber, Hwang In-beom, Calvin Stengs, Bart Nieuwkoop, Gernot Trauner, striker Ayase Ueda and Justin Bijlow all out injured.

On top of that, Antoni Milambo and Jakub Moder are both doubful.

Predicted lineup: Wellenreuther; Mitchell, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Ivanusec, Moder, Smal; Hadj Moussa, Carranza, Paixão.

Inter Milan Team News:

Federico Dimarco, Carlos Augusto, Matteo Darmian and Nicola Zalewski are all set to miss out through injury, leaving Simone Inzaghi with a headache surrounding the wing-back selections.

Goalkeeper Yann Sommer is also likely to miss out once again.

Predicted lineup: J. Martínez; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Pavard, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dumfries; L. Martínez, Thuram.

Feyenoord:

Feyenoord come into this game with two wins and three draws from their last five games. The Dutch side drew 0-0 with NEC at the weekend in what was Robin van Persie's first game in charge, which was a less than ideal result.

Before that, Feyenoord beat Almere City 2-1 thanks to goals from Julián Carranza and Dávid Hancko, a result that followed a 1-1 draw away at AC Milan, where Carranza got the goal, a 0-0 draw with NAC Breda and a 1-0 win over AC Milan, courtesy of Igor Paixão.

Inter Milan:

Inter Milan are in decent form, with Simone Inzaghi's side having won three, drawn one and lost one of their last five games. Last time out, Inter drew 0-0 away at Napoli after Federico Dimarco opened the scoring with a fine free-kick, a result that was preceded by a 2-0 win over Lazio in the Coppa Italia, with Marko Arnautović and Hakan Çalhanoğlu scoring the goals.

Prior to that, Inter beat Genoa 1-0 thanks to a Lautaro Martínez goal, which was preceded by a 1-0 loss away at Juventus and a 2-1 win over Fiorentina, thanks to an own goal and an Arnautović goal.

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