Inter Milan have been unimpressive in the Serie A this season as they lie on the ninth position, while their opponent for tonight in the Europa League, Wolfsburg, have been performing well in the Bundesliga, where they lie on the second spot.
But, that would not deter Inter Milan from going all out in the Volkswagen Arena at Wolfsburg. The Inter Milan players would be looking forward to Roberto Mancini for inspiration, as the Inter Milan players have found some belief after Mancini joined the team as their manager in November.
Mancini has himself stated that the players have improved as well. He told Gazzetta TV, "When I came in, the squad was low on morale because of some negative results.
"But I found a very willing group of players and they've improved extremely quickly. You don't often get a group capable of making such progress, and it certainly wasn't easy to change things with the season in full flow."
With this improvement, Inter Milan would head to Germany hoping to defeat Wolfsburg. But, they are aware of the task, which lies ahead for the Mancini's side, as Wolfsburg have been playing some good football where they have won four out of the six matches in all competitions.
But, Inter Milan's form has been decent as well with three wins in their last six matches.
Wolfsburg must have been disappointed after their shock loss to FC Augsburg with the score reading, 1-0. Kevin de Bruyne, Wolfsburg star stated that their team lost during the weekend due to fatigue, but does not want to use tiredness as an excuse for defeat.
If one is to play in such elite competitions, one needs to be ready for more matches over the week, which could be tiresome, but big teams need to rise up to the challenge as well.
Bruyne has been a huge performer for Wolfsburg along with other stars and he has been a major reason for the German club doing well in the Bundesliga as well.
But, he needs to stand up and be counted when they play one of the giants of European football, Inter Milan. Along with Bruyne, Bas Dost, who has been in good goal scoring form also needs to come up with a good game.
Another striker, Aaron Hunt, is unavailable for the game due to a knee injury, while Inter Milan might have to do without their defender, Yuto Nagatomo, who is out with thigh injury.
Where to Watch Live
The round of 16 clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid is scheduled at 2pm ET (11:30pm IST, 6pm GMT) start with live TV coverage in India on Ten Action.
Viewers across the UK can watch it live on ITV 4 UK, while viewers in the US can watch it live on Fox Soccer 2Go with live streaming facility on Fox Soccer 2Go.
Viewers in Germany can watch it live on Sky Sports 2/HD and Italian viewers can watch it on Premium Play.
