Internazionale vs Getafe 06/08/20

06 August 2020

Internazionale and Getafe go head-to-head at the Veltins Arena in the revamped UEFA Europa League round of 16. It will be the first European clash against these two opponents and also Getafe’s first-ever meeting with an Italian side in the UEFA competition.

Inter shifted to the Europa League knockout stage after finishing third in the UEFA Champions League Group B behind the likes of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. The ‘Nerazzurri’ had no problems going past the Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets in the round of 32, winning both legs (2-0 A, 2-1 H). However, three of Inter’s last four appearances in the Europa League have ended in the round of 16. Moreover, the two defeats to Barcelona in the Champions League this season mean the Serie A giants have pulled off only one win from their last 12 European clashes against the Spanish sides (D4, L7). Curiously, though, only one of Inter’s previous six matches in the Europa League knockout stages has seen both teams score.

Meanwhile, Getafe finished the group stage as runners-up to Basel in Group C (W4, L2) and went on to defeat the Dutch champions Ajax in the round of 32, 3-2 on aggregate (2-0 H, 1-2 A). The ‘clean-sheet’ theme remains quite significant in the contest of Getafe’s Europa League matches this season. Indeed, five of their eight results (wins/losses) in the competition proper have seen the winner on the day keep a blank sheet. Interestingly, none of Getafe’s last five Europa League fixtures outside of Spain have ended in a draw (W3, L3), with each of those results yielding a narrow one-goal margin.