Inter Milan is doing well in the Serie A as well as in the UEFA Champions League; the same thing can be said of Real Sociedad, who are in one of the European spots in the Spanish La Liga and are competing with Inter for the groupโs top spot in the UCL
Inter Milan made a solid start to the new league season. The Inter side won their opening five games of the new Serie A campaign before eventually losing to Sassuolo at the San Siro on match day six – the last side to taste defeat in the Serie A this season. Meanwhile, the Nerazzuri began the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Monza at the San Siro before another routine win against Cagliari in their second league game to continue their fine start.
A couple of big wins soon followed for the Inter side as they thumped Fiorentina 4-0 to signal their intentions to fight for the Serie A title this season. Skipper Lautaro Martinez grabbed a brace, while summer signing Marcus Thuram, who has become an instant hit, got a goal in the one-sided contest at San Siro. To back that win up, Inter hosted Milan in the first Milan derby of the season, and it was Simeone Inzaghiโs men claimed all total points with ease again. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Thuram stole the show in the 5-1 destruction of the Red and Blacks.
Following their blistering start to the Serie A, last seasonโs finalists in the UEFA Champions League took to the pitch for their 2023/24 opener against Real Sociedad at San Sebastian. The Italians were second best all through the match, but they found a way to avoid a defeat after Lautaro Martinez scored a late equalizer to rescue a point. Another hard-fought 1-0 win over Empoli followed upon their return to the Serie A. Federico Dimarco scored the gameโs only goal to help Inter stay on top.
Surprisingly, Inter lost to Sassuolo at home to see their winning streak end, but they recovered almost immediately in the next match to beat Salernitana 4-0. Skipper Martinez came off the bench as he scored all four goals to lead his side to victory. Back in the UCL, Inter edged Benfica 1-0 to claim their first three points in the group. In the Serie A at San Siro, Inter let a two-goal lead slip as Bologna held them to a 2-2 draw just before the international break.
After that break, Inter found their mojo back, racking up three consecutive wins to get back on track in the Serie A and edge closer to the second round of the UEFA Champions League. A 3-0 win over Torino was backed up by a 2-1 win over RB Salzburg before they defeated AS Roma 1-0 at San Siro to stay top of the log for another week in the Serie A.
On the other hand, Real Sociedad started the season with three consecutive draws, but they have since recovered to rise on the log. Firstly, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona on the opening weekend. Japanese forward Takefusa Kubo grabbed the home side’s goal before they were pegged back in the second half.
A similar result played out in the second game of the season at home to Celta Vigo before the trip to Las Palmas on match week three finished blanks. It was a frustrating start to the campaign for Alguacli and his players. In summary, August produced no wins for a side that finished in the top four in the previous campaign.
In the first game of September, Real Sociedad kicked things off with a win over Granada in an eight-goal thriller. Kubo grabbed two goals in the game, while Martin Zubimendi and Barrenetxea got among the act too. It was a massive relief for the manager and his side before the international break. The first defeat of the season came when they faced Real Madrid at the Bernabeu before three consecutive wins in La Liga got them back on track – wins over Getafe, Valencia, and Athletic Bilbao. In the UCL, La Real defeated RB Salzburg 2-0 away from home to claim their first win of the competition.
Real Sociedad struggled in the Europa League last season as AS Roma knocked them out in the quarterfinals. This is their first appearance in Europe’s elite competition since the 2013/14 season and they are trying to make good use of it.
Match tickets
The epic match at San Siro in Milan kicks off on Tuesday 12th December, at 9 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 8 PM.
Inter Milan were finalists last season and they have shown a bit of consistency in the first round of matches in their group. The Nerazzuris will host the Spanish side at the magnificent 80,000-capacity stadium.
Getting tickets for Inter Milan vs Real Sociedad tickets could take a lot of work to get, given the peculiarity of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each clubโs channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Inter has no major injury concerns going into this UEFA Champions League match. Marcus Thuram, who started on the bench in the reverse fixture, could start in attack alongside Lautaro Martinez. Marco Arnautovic and Juan Cuadrado are the ones who could win this match.
Inter Milan: Sommer; Bastoni, Acerbi, Darmian; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.
Kubo has been excellent for Sociedad this season, and the manager will be looking to bank on his expertise in this game. Meanwhile, Andre Silva, Aritz Elustondo, and Martin Merquelanz are nursing various degrees of injuries and might play no part in this match.
Real Sociedad: Remiro; Traore, Zubelda, Leo Normand, Tierney; Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea.
Prediction
Inter Milan made it to the final last season before losing to Manchester City and is one of the sides to have won the Champions League in the last 20 years. Real Sociedad wants to create history in this competition and will need to be at their best to emerge from this game with a favorable result.
Regarding the potential goalscorers, Mikel Oyarzabal has scored six goals in 11 appearances this season, while Interโs Martinez has 12 goals in 13 appearances in all competitions this season.
Inter Milan 2-1 Real Sociedad