Inter‘s Champions League rivals Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat against Leicester City, so some Nerazzurri fans see a chance to make it to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.
Inter and Liverpool will meet in the Champions League Round of 16 in February and March.
The Serie A champions will host the Reds at San Siro on February 16 and visit Anfield Road on March 8.
Liverpool was trending on Twitter in Italy after the Reds’ defeat last night, with many Nerazzurri fans pointing out that, after all, Jurgen Klopp’s side are not unbeatable.
On paper, Liverpool are the favourite to go through, but Simone Inzaghi’s men have had a great first part of the campaign and are the Serie A leaders with 46 points in 19 games.
They have the best-attacking record with 49 goals scored and only conceded one goal fewer than Napoli, who have the best defence in the league.
However, Nicolò Barella will miss at least the first leg having collected a straight red card against Real Madrid in the last group stage game.
The Italy international has already delivered seven assists in league games this season, as many as his teammate Hakan Calhanoglu.
On the other hand, Liverpool sees Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita play in the Africa Cup of Nations next month. If Egypt, Senegal or Guinea reach the Final, they will be involved in the tournament until February 6.
If their players reach the final, they still have 1 week to recover and prepare for UCL. So this is not a handicap at all.
Liverpool have higher quality up front, they have better finishers like Salah and Firmino – so they are the favourites.