Pio Esposito In Line To Start Inter Milan’s Crunch Champions League Clash Against Borussia Dortmund

Pio Esposito is set to get the nod over Marcus Thuram for Inter Milan’s vital Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Esposito is being tipped to start over the Frenchman by Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian newspaper claims the Inter prodigy is the preferred partner for Lautaro Martinez.

‘El Toro‘ will lead the line in Germany in what is the final league phase fixture. The Nerazzurri need a win to give themselves a chance of automatic qualification to the last 16.

Pio Esposito To Start For Inter Milan Against Borussia Dortmund

Having scored in Inter Milan’s 6-2 Pisa thrashing on Friday, Pio Esposito strongly staked his claim to start against Borussia Dortmund.

Interestingly, Federico Dimarco likened Pio Esposito to Christian Vieri after the match. A comparison that will surely have boosted Esposito’s confidence.

After netting at the San Siro, the Inter wonderkid now has five goals and six assists to his name across all competitions. Four of those assists have actually been tucked away by Lautaro Martinez.

With that in mind, it makes sense from Cristian Chivu’s perspective to unleash Arsenal target Esposito from the very first whistle at Signal Iduna Park.

Especially as Marcus Thuram is struggling at the moment. The France forward has not scored or assisted in four consecutive Serie A games.

Furthermore, he hasn’t netted in the champions League since the matchday 1 victory against Ajax. Thuram is set to be on the bench in Germany and can play a small role in the crunch encounter.

Inter Milan’s Champions League Qualification Hopes

Naturally, having Pio Esposito start against Borussia Dortmund will give Inter Milan their best chance of securing automatic qualification.

However, Inter’s Champions League progression has been downplayed by Opta. Their statistical model provided gives the Nerazzurri just a 6.31% possibility of finishing in the top eight.

It’s extremely likely – similar to Dortmund – that a playoff place will come to fruition. Granted, the UCL table is tight with 12 teams separated by four points, but having every team above them slip up is nigh-on impossible.

All that Cristian Chivu’s charges can realistically achieve is a positive result in Germany. Considering they have lost their last three games in Europe’s elite club competition, finishing strongly will provide hope going into the playoffs.

And with Esposito in from the start, supporters can be hopeful of a win. Their opponents endured a disappointing defeat to Tottenham last time out.

Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke scored for the north Londoners in a 2-0 win. Daniel Svensson was dismissed for Niko Kovac’s side and ultimately, will miss the clash.