Despite Spalletti’s early successes at Roma and Zenit, he hasn’t won a trophy since 2012 – and his second spell at Roma was at times complicated by his handling of club legend Totti’s game time. Despite this, he led the Rome club to respective third and second-place Serie A finishes in his two seasons, qualifying them for the Champions League on both occasions.

An encouraging first season in Milan silenced any remaining doubters, but Spalletti has not enjoyed the best of starts to the domestic season. A positive showing in Europe would do his credibility no harm at all, although drawing Tottenham and Barcelona makes qualifying for the last 16 a tough task.

Tactical analysis

Structure

In his time at Inter so far, Spalletti has continued to prioritise a 4-2-3-1 structure – albeit a more traditional one, with the prolific forward Mauro Icardi as the focal point of the team’s attacking play within the final third.

Similar to his time at Zenit, Inter have used two defensive midfielders and a number 10 within the central lane. Two from Marcelo Brozovic, Matias Vecino and Roberto Gagliardini provide solid central protection in the defensive midfield roles, while summer signing Radja Nainggolan – he has joined from Roma in the wake of his shock exclusion from Belgium’s World Cup squad – provides ideal central support to lone striker Icardi ahead of them.

Inter’s full-backs often fly forward in attack, particularly as they set up with two defensive midfielders who rarely venture ahead of the ball. Sime Vrsaljko and Kwadwo Asamoah are two very offensively minded full-backs who can provide effective attacking crosses into any opponent’s penalty area.