Internazionale – Shakhtar: preview
We have the line‑ups for the match between Inter and Shakhtar in the third round of the 2026/27 Champions League group stage. Inter, after two defeats in the Champions League, will play at home against Shakhtar. The Ard Turan side is not the favourite, but it can hit the rival’s weak defence hard.
Key points
Inter
1. Inter, with two consecutive defeats in the CL, has found itself in an uncomfortable position
The double finalist of the Champions League (2022/23 and 2024/25) has not been playing well in this tournament lately. In the last edition, the team started well but reached the play‑off matches, where it unexpectedly fell to “Bude‑Glimt”. In the current edition, the Milanese faced Real Madrid with dignity (1:2) and then made mistakes against Brugge (3:4). No points in two rounds is unacceptable for the Serie A leader, and the situation must be corrected now, starting with Shakhtar.
2. Bonni has earned a place in the starting XI, Chalhanoglu and Diufo should also play
Captain Lautaro Martínez is injured, but the Argentine’s absence does not stop Inter’s offensive aggression. Markus Turom is in the squad, but he is not left behind Anž‑Joan Bonni, who scored in the matches against Brugge and Bologna. The Italian will probably go into the battle for a place in the starting XI against Shakhtar, under the direction of Francesco Espósito.
Overall, a moderate rotation of Kivu is expected: in defence, Carlos Augusto will replace Alessandro Bastoni, the active Andy Diufo will replace the chaotic Luis Enrique, and Jed Spence will try his place instead of Federico Dimarco. Hakan Chalhanoglu will take charge of the half‑back line, and Henryk Mkhitaryan will have a reunion with the past: the Armenian defended Shakhtar between 2010 and 2013.
3. Inter must not make another mistake in the Champions League
It seems that Christian Kivu’s team does not learn from its mistakes. A recent example: the “black‑blues” lost the first half against Bologna, and fortunately the opponent scored only one goal before the break. At half‑time, Kivu spoke to the team in a raised tone, and they pushed forward, surpassing the opponent.
Inter has everything to score, but defensive lapses are costly. If they do not beat Shakhtar, the position will become critical. And the tough matches with the miners were plentiful: Bastoni, Barrella, Dimarco, Lautaro Martínez, Chalhanoglu remember well how they lost important points in the Champions League even at the “Giuseppe Meazza”.
Shakhtar
1. Shakhtar has not lost since August
The Ard Turan side is in good shape. The only defeat in the new season occurred in August: the “Poleś” (0:2) in the Ukrainian league. Since that defeat, Shakhtar has played nine matches in all competitions, eight of which ended in victory. The intense schedule due to the Champions League has not affected the team, and in the CL itself the miners look very good: a away draw with PSV (1:1) and a home win over AEK Athens – 3:1. Four points in two rounds is progress, considering that in the 2024/25 season the team earned only seven points in the group stage and did not reach the play‑offs.
2. The victory over Kolos was mainly achieved with reserves
After the match at “Stamford Bridge” the team returned to Lviv to play Kolos (2:1). Ard Turan made many substitutions, but practically did not touch the defensive line and left goalkeeper Dmitry Riznyk. The other first‑team players spent the whole match on the bench or came on as substitutes, maintaining the level of play. There are no global problems with Shakhtar’s line‑up. Irajli Azarov, Alaa Gram and Eginaldo are injured, but none of them are part of the main group this year.
3. Inter’s offensive style favours Shakhtar
The Inter match against Brugge showed that if the team is used to playing offensive football and scoring a lot, it is easier to break the “black‑blues” defence. Shakhtar is used to dominating in Ukraine, and goals are somewhat natural. In Shakhtar’s line‑up there are enough Brazilians, many of whom possess excellent technique. The practice of the last two group‑stage matches showed: the miners do not need to make many touches inside the area (on average 26‑35) and shoot many times at the goal (20 % of shots on target finish in goal) to achieve the desired result.
Approximate line‑ups
3-5-2-4-1-4-11
Martinez30 Augusto25 Akandji31 Bisek99 Spence22 Mkhitaryan20 Chalhanoglu23 Barrella17 Diufo14 Bonni9 Turom31 Riznyk17 Tobias5 Bondar22 Matvienko13 Pedrino27 Ocherytko30 Santana10 Pedrino6 Gomez77 Mendes9 Elias
Betting on the trend
Five of six Inter matches and three of five Shakhtar matches in the CL ended with goal exchanges. OZ — yes at 1.74.
Three of five matches between Inter and Shakhtar ended in a draw. H — at 7.70.
Prediction
Inter vs Shakhtar 21.10.2026 23:00
Inter, with two defeats at the start of the Champions League, has found itself in an uncomfortable position. The away defeat to Real Madrid was predictable, while the home defeat to Brugge was unexpected. Inter continues to make defensive mistakes and recovers nervous matches thanks to an incredible goal‑scoring ability that does not diminish even without the injured Lautaro Martínez. How long will this last?
Shakhtar returned to the Champions League with pleasant results. The semifinalist of the last edition of the Conference League earned four points in two rounds, which is about 30 % of the points needed to advance to the play‑offs of the group stage. The Ard Turan side looks attractive in attack and has explosively technical Brazilians, meaning it can offer another intrigue at the “Giuseppe Meazza”. We assume the match will be high‑scoring, and Inter will delight its fans with a victory.
Prediction: 2-1
