Moreover, Leonardo has a major responsibility in this battle. Since the recent team test showed that Milito almost certainly cannot participate in the decisive second leg against Bayern Munich, Inter Milan must try new offensive tactics in this game to find an ace who can deal with Bayern's defense at the Allianz Arena. Apart from Eto'o who is in top form, Leonardo needs to find a partner for Eto'o.
Before the match, Leonardo said: "Brescia can play in many ways. They are a very resourceful team, and this will be a very tough game." Meanwhile, Brescia's core player Caracciolo pointed out: "I still have full confidence in our successful relegation fight, and we will give Inter Milan trouble."
The championship and relegation battles are crucial and cannot afford any mistakes. The Blue and Black squad faces a dual challenge. The problem is that after playing against Brescia, Inter Milan will head to Germany to prepare for next Wednesday morning's Champions League knockout round. Among the three Italian teams currently, Roma and AC Milan have both been eliminated, leaving only Inter Milan with a slim chance of advancing despite the odds being very low - in the past 55 years of Champions League history, out of the 36 teams that lost 0-1 at home, 33 were ultimately eliminated. However, this may still affect Inter Milan's mindset as they go to Brescia, as the big clubs with divided attention face a relegation-bound team determined to fight to the death, making this match not lacking in suspense.
In this match, Inter Milan has four players injured or suspended. Cambiasso has recovered but did not make the match list, Milito and Samuel continue to recover from injuries, and it was reported before the match that Chivu also missed out. Leonardo revealed: "Chivu has a slight muscle issue, and he had some problems with his foot a few days ago, but of course, the problem is not serious." Chivu did not make the match list, meaning that Japanese new signing Yuto Nagatomo, who scored his first goal for Inter last round, will definitely start.
Yuto Nagatomo is sure to start, and Coach Leonardo is searching for a Bayern killer. Currently, Inter Milan's league title situation is extremely severe. With only 10 rounds left, Inter Milan is still 5 points behind, which means losing any one game could completely destroy their chances of winning the title. Therefore, although this is an away game for Inter Milan, the situation is clear: failing to secure all 3 points might mean losing the biggest goal in the remaining league matches. Similarly, Brescia is also in such a position. Currently ranked second-last in the league, Brescia is still 3 points away from safety, so every game requires their utmost effort. In the past five games, Brescia fought hard to remain unbeaten in four of them, showing a desperate struggle that should not be underestimated.
At 3:45 AM Beijing Time on March 12, due to the Champions League, the focus match of the 29th round of Serie A was moved up to Saturday morning. The defending champion Inter Milan will face Brescia away. This match not only relates to whether Inter Milan can maintain the championship suspense but is also Leonardo's last warm-up opportunity before the decisive battle against Bayern Munich.
The Macedonian forward Pandev, who performed well in the last round, might start instead of Palacio, as Palacio cannot play in the Champions League. Additionally, Leonardo called up Dell'Agnello, the captain of the Italian Under-19 national team, into the match list. This young player was the top scorer and MVP of the recent Inter Youth Championship in Italy, with excellent point-taking ability and footwork skills. He might get a chance to come off the bench. Before the match, Leonardo revealed: "I think the youth team is part of the team plan. Dell'Agnello is an excellent player, and he made the list because we need him."