The two coaches have only crossed paths one time before today's match: the reverse fixture in this year's Champions League group stage when Ranieri's Inter emerged from Moscow with a 3-2 victory.

Taking into consideration also the period when CSKA Moscow represented the ex-Soviet Union, this will be the sixth match between these two sides. Inter have won all five of the previous games, notching up 11 goals.

Inter have faced Russian opposition 15 times in competitive matches, including those against CSKA Moscow; so far there have been 11 wins for the the Nerazzurri, 3 draws (all 1-1) and just 1 defeat (3-0 away to Lokomotiv Moscow on 21 October 2003 in the Champions League). This is the 8th time Inter have hosted a Russian team in a European cup competition and they are yet to lose: 6 wins and 1 draw in 7 games. The Nerazzurri scored in each of those 7 matches, racking up a total of 14 goals.

There have been 13 games between CSKA Moscow and Italian rivals - including both the period when the Moscow-based outfit was part of the ex-Soviet Union and games against Inter - with 4 Russian wins, 2 draws and 7 wins for Italian clubs. CSKA Moscow are playing on Italian soil for the 7th time; their record stands at 2 wins, draw and 3 defeats.

Inter are just one step away from their 200th win in an international tournament. The current 199 victories are divided as such: 81 in the European Cup/Champions League, 6 in Cup Winners' Cup, 89 in the Fairs/UEFA Cup, 5 in Intercontinental/Club World Cup, 1 in the Coppa delle Alpi, 1 in the Piano Rappan Cup, 1 in the Anglo-Italian Cup, 4 in the Mundialito Tournament and 11 in the Mitropa Cup. The first international win for Inter - then called Ambrosiana - goes back to 15 July 1930: Ujpest Dozsa 2-4 Inter, in the Mitropa Cup.

Should Diego Milito take to the pitch tonight he would celebrate his 100th appearance in an Inter shirt. His current 99 appearances are divided as such: 66 in Serie A, 8 in Coppa Italia, 2 in the Italian Super Cup, 20 in the Champions League, 2 in the Club World Cup and 1 in the European Super Cup. Milito's official Inter debut was on 8 August 2009: Inter 1-2 Lazio in the Italian Super Cup.

Dejan Stankovic, who has 9 goals for Inter, could become the 8th player in Nerazzurri history to reach double digits in the European Cup/Champions League goal-scoring charts. The current leader is Adriano with 18, followed by Mazzola with 16, Cruz with 13, Crespo and Jair with 11, and Eto'o and Martins with 10 each.

The last competitive goal scored by CSKA Moscow came on 18 October in the Champions League when they won 3-0 at home against Trabzonspor. The scorer was Doumbia in the 86th minute. Since that moment, including the 4 remaining minutes of that match, plus the entire Champions League games against Trabzonspor (0-0 away) and Lille (a 0-2 home defeat), they have tallied 184 minutes without a goal.

David Fernandez Borbalan was born in Almeria (Spain) on 30 May 1973 and has been an international referee since 2010. This is his 6th match in Europe this season: Hacken 1-0 Honka (Europa League preliminary), Dinamo Kiev 0-2 Rubin Kazan 0-2 (Champions League preliminary), Sion 0-3 Celtic Glasgow awarded by arbitration (Europa League play-off ), Otelul Galati 0-1 Benfica (Champions League group match) and Odense 1-4 Twente (Europa League group match). This will be Borbalan's first competitive match with either Inter or CSKA Moscow. The Spanish ref has once been in charge of a game with an Italian team: the 2010/11 Europa League match that Juventus won away to Shamrock Rovers. Borbalan can also boast a competitive match with a Russian team: the 2011/12 Champions League match that Rubin Kazan won 2-0 away to Dinamo Kiev.

MILAN – Inter's group stage in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League ended with a 2-1 defeat against CSKA Moscow, but with the qualification to the round of 16 already in their pocket.

There were no goals in the first half, but some good chances mainly from Diego Milito, who also hit the crossbar in the second half without finding the net. That was taken care of by Doumbia and Cambiasso in back-to-back goals in the 49th and 50th minute. The score remained 1-1 until the 87th minute when Vasily Berezutsky's header secured qualification for the Russians.

FIRST HALF - For the last match of group stage, Ranieri relied on Castellazzi in goal and once again started Faraoni on the flank with Obi. Coutinho was the playmaker behind lone forward Milito, who this evening celebrated his 100th competitive match in an Inter shirt.

In the first minute the Russians threatened through Vagner Love, held off by Samuel, while Chivu then had to deal with Oliseh on the flank. The first clear chance fell to CSKA when Dzagoev nearly found an opening for the goal before the Nerazzurri's defence closed him down. At the other end Inter came even closer when Coutinho found a speeding Milito in the box, but his pass was too weak and Gabulov arrived first to claim it. Three minutes later there was practically a carbon copy of the same play for El Principe – this time served by Nagatomo – but Gabulov was again there to foil his effort. Later an exchange between Faraoni and Milito allowed the Argentine to shoot from the edge of the box; the ball then found Zanetti, whose shot from distance was deflected out for a corner. Vagner Love caused problems with his right-footer on the turn, but Castellazzi showed awareness to punch the ball away with both hands. Samuel's foul in the 34th minute awarded a free kick to the Russians; Dzagoev's service found the head of Vagner Love, but the ball went just over the crossbar. Nagatomo did well to take advantage of a free kick and earn a corner after his shot was fisted away by Gabulov. A series of corner kicks by CSKA starting on minute 40 ended with a stalemate, while Inter only needed one (earned by Milito) to create another dangerous chance with El Principe's shot from the edge of the box, which flew just beyond a diving Gabulov as well as the crossbar. After 1 minute of injury time the first half between Inter and CSKA Moscow ended at 0-0.

SECOND HALF – There was a double substitution at the start of the second half: Coutinho came off for Zarate and Chivu exited for Caldirola, making his official debut for Inter. Then in the 49th minute CSKA made their mark on the score sheet when Doumbia, on an assist from Vagner Love, beat Castallazzi to make it 0-1. However, the festivities would not last long. At the other end, on a corner from Zarate, Ranocchia's header forced Gabulov to block the ball with his fists, but a lurking Cambiasso needed only a touch to put the ball in the net. The score was now 1-1. Six minutes later Cuchu created a chance for Zarate who, alone in front of the goal, was halted by the linesman's flag. There was another chance for Milito, who saw his header easily handled by Gabulov. Alvarez, a 65th-minute substitute for Obi, tried his luck with an attempt from the corner flag, but Gabulov stretched low to block his effort. On a CSKA free kick, awarded for Faraoni's foul on Doumbia, Ignasevich's effort was headed on by Aldonin to Vasily Berezutsky, whose shot was kept out by the reflexes of Castelllazzi. Milito once again came close to a goal in the 80th minute when he received the ball after a galloping run from Zanetti, but from a few feet in front of the goal El Principe could only find the crossbar. From a missed goal to a goal let in; at the other end V. Berezutsky headed a corner kick past Castellazzi to make it 1-2 and send CSKA Moscow to the next round. Next comes the draw, so it's everyone to Nyon on 16 December.


Inter 1-2 CSKA Moscow (HT: 0-0)
Scorers: Doumbia 49, Cambiasso 51, V. Berezutsky 87.

Inter: 12 Castellazzi; 55 Nagatomo, 23 Ranocchia, 25 Samuel, 26 Chivu (Caldirola 46); 37 Faraoni, 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 20 Obi (Alvarez 65); 29 Coutinho (Zarate 46); 22 Milito.
Unused subs: 21 Orlandoni, 7 Pazzini, 8 Thiago Motta, 48 Crisetig.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.

CSKA Moscow: 30 Gabulov; 14 Nababkin, 24 V. Berezutsky, 4 Ignasevich, 6 A. Berezutsky; 26 Oliseh, 2 Semberas (Aldonin 77), 17 Mamaev, 10 Dzagoev; 9 Vagner Love, 8 Doumbia (Schennikov 90+2).
Unused subs: 1 Chepchugov, 5 Vasin, 19 Cauna, 25 Rahimic, 59 Fedotov.
Coach: Leonid Slutsky.

Referee: David Fernandez Borbolan (Spain).
Booked: Semberas 22,  Mamaev 64, Caldirola 64, Nbabkin 69.
Added time: 1+3.
Attendance: 23,295.

starting lineups

substitutes