Internazionale v Dnipro background
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Article summary
FC Internazionale Milano need only to avoid defeat at home against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on matchday five to be sure of a top-two finish in UEFA Europa League Group F.
Article top media content
Article body
FC Internazionale Milano can make sure of a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 if they avoid defeat against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on matchday five.
Form guide
• Inter won 1-0 at Dnipro on matchday one and remain unbeaten in seven games against Ukrainian sides (W4 D3); Dnipro have lost all three of their previous UEFA matches in Italy.
• Inter conceded their first 2014/15 UEFA Europa League goal in the 1-1 matchday four draw against AS Saint-Étienne. Prior to that, they had gone five games without conceding since entering the competition in the play-offs.
• Inter are unbeaten in nine European home contests (W5 D4); Dnipro are unbeaten in their last three UEFA Europa League away fixtures (W1 D2).
Trivia and links
• Dnipro's Portuguese winger Bruno Gama is one of the three most fouled players in the group stage; he, Alexander Büttner (FC Dinamo Moskva) and Richard Almeida (Qarabağ FK) were infringed against 15 times each over the first four matchdays.
• Dnipro have been shown more yellow cards than any side in the group stage – 18 in total.
• Dnipro's Czech defender Ondřej Mazuch spent two seasons in Italy with ACF Fiorentina (2007-09) but made only two first-team appearances, in a Coppa Italia tie against Ascoli Calcio 1898. Inter's Pablo Osvaldo and Zdravko Kuzmanović were among his Fiorentina team-mates.
The coaches
• In charge at Inter since May 2013, Walter Mazzarri was dismissed as Inter coach on 14 November after a disappointing start in Serie A.
• Inter's new boss is Roberto Mancini, who coached the club from 2004-08, winning three Serie A titles and two national cups. A forward for UC Sampdoria and SS Lazio, he was capped over 30 times for Italy, with recent coaching adventures taking him to Manchester City FC – where he won the 2011/12 English title – and Galatasaray AŞ.
• Dnipro coach since 2014, Myron Markevych started out as a midfielder with hometown club FC Karpaty Lviv, and while his playing career was not a huge success, he served Karpaty in four spells as a coach before a lengthy stint at FC Metalist Kharkiv earned him a reputation for attacking football. He briefly coached Ukraine in 2010.
