Matchday Menu: Marco Materazzi's Champions League picks

Winner of the UEFA Champions League with Inter in the 2009/10 season, former Italian defender Marco Materazzi reveals his favoured gameday meals and looks ahead to the quarter-finals in the latest episode of the Just Eat Matchday Menu series.

Matchday meals, featuring Wesley Sneijder and Dejan Stanković

For his normal pre-game meal, Materazzi says he went for "pasta and some 'crostata' Italian cake." He was particularly surprised by the dietary habits of one former team-mate, though: "Filippo Inzaghi ate a little bit of 'pasta in bianco' [plain pasta], and only one or two 'penne' with sugar. It was strange. [I think] he eats right now the same as when he was a player. At Inter the food was really, really nice, and they had one apple cake which was amazing. I asked for an extra portion 'for my kids', but it was for me."

And as for his dream takeaway night in? "I would invite Wesley Sneijder, who likes to eat a bit dirty, and Dejan Stanković," he decides. "We are friends, and after dinner we could laugh and speak about the memories. For Wes I would order sushi and maybe some meat. For Dejan, I would order sausage, because I know in Serbia that is one of the typical foods. For myself, I would order [melanzane] Parmigiana, because there's not too many calories. I love it!"

Wesley Sneijder (centre) and Marco Materazzi (right) won the Champions League in the 2009/10 season with Inter Getty Images

Must-watch matches: Bayern vs Inter, Paris vs Aston Villa

Materazzi cannot wait to get stuck into this week's action, with Tuesday's game between his former side Inter and Bayern in Munich particularly catching the eye. "Inter have kept eight clean sheets in the Champions League so far, which is incredible," he says. "But the next round against Bayern will not be easy, because they are at the same level and they have Harry Kane, who is looking to win his first trophy. I think this Inter team play better than the one I was in, but if you compare them, we would still beat them! We were not beautiful, but we were strong enough to score. Maybe 1-0, not 3-0."

As for Wednesday's games, he highlights Paris vs Villa: "Paris deserve the chance to win the Champions League, because they have made changes, they are young and do not have lots of big names, but they know what they're doing. Aston Villa have a good manager. He is Spanish but plays with an English style. If it goes to penalties it will not be easy for Paris, because Emiliano Martínez is very strong and has a good mentality."

Marco Materazzi was full of praise for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano MartínezGetty Images

A legendary trio compared

To conclude, Materazzi compares himself with two other iconic centre-backs: Alessandro Nesta and Virgil van Dijk. While he concedes that Van Dijk is the best passer and Nesta the finest tackler, the 2006 World Cup winner is confident that he is the most intimidating of the trio: "I'm big and I hate to lose," he concludes.