Inter v Shakhtar Donetsk: Champions League preview, predicted line-ups & team news

Matchday three of the Champions League league stage is early enough for a slip to be forgiven, but not so early that a second one goes unnoticed.

Inter have played twice and lost twice, which leaves them without a point and with plenty of work to do if they want to avoid the play-off round.

Shakhtar Donetsk, by contrast, have four points from their two games and sit 14th in the standings snapshot, inside the play-off places.

That makes this a game with the roles reversed on the table and very much not reversed in the betting, where the hosts are heavily odds-on.

It is a fixture where one side has the favourite's tag and the other has the cushion. Only one of them can enjoy it.

How did Inter get here? Badly, in a word.

They lost 2-1 away at Real Madrid in September, then followed it up with a 4-3 home defeat to Club Brugge on 13 October, a game in which they scored three and still came away empty-handed.

The numbers behind it are odd, too, because Inter have averaged 25.5 shots and 58.5 per cent possession across those two games and yet have conceded six goals, an average of three per game.

How did Shakhtar get here? Steadily.

They drew 1-1 away at PSV Eindhoven on matchday one, then beat AEK Athens 3-1 at home last week, so four goals scored and two conceded.

They are not a side that dominates the ball (they averaged 50 per cent possession and 10 shots across the two games), but they have been efficient and have found the net in both.

Rotation is unlikely to be the story here, because Inter cannot afford it.

With no points on the board, the hosts need a result more than a rest, and the injury list will do most of the squad-selection work for them anyway.

Shakhtar are a different case, as a side with four points can afford to be a little more pragmatic.

Their squad is stretched by injuries and absences, so changes are more likely to be forced than chosen.

After a home win in midweek last week, they should arrive in decent spirits, although a trip to Milan is a different sort of examination.

Inter lined up in a 3-5-2 in their two games so far and there is little reason to expect a change.

Predicted Inter XI: Josep Martínez; Akanji, Bisseck, Bastoni; Luis Henrique, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Esposito.

Shakhtar have used both a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-1-4-1 so far, so the shape is less certain.

Predicted Shakhtar XI: Riznyk; Karavaev, Bondar, Matvienko, Matturro; Ocheretko, Kryskiv; Alisson Santana, Marlon Gomes, Gabriel Carvalho; Kauã Elias.

Kick-off is at 20:00 BST on Wednesday 21 October 2026.

The UK broadcaster for this match is not confirmed at the time of publication, and this page will be updated closer to kick-off.

If the game is level after 90 minutes, nothing further happens, because this is a league-stage match and not a knockout tie, so there is no extra time and no penalty shoot-out.

It is a single game rather than a two-legged tie.