Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow:INTER MILAN face the rare prospect of using tonight's Champions League quarter-final first leg against CSKA Moscow to boost their flagging domestic confidence rather than the other way round. The Italian champions were imperious in eliminating Chelsea in the last 16 with a 1-0 win in London but their recent Serie A form has been poor by comparison.

Their lead at the top has been cut from nine points in mid-February to just a point following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at title rivals AS Roma, where Inter hit the woodwork three times but looked much more nervous than usual. “Playing every three days isn’t easy but our desire to win is stronger than the tiredness,” Inter’s leading scorer Diego Milito said ahead of the San Siro clash.

Inter, who have not reached the semi-finals since 2003 and have an unbeaten home record this term, have Brazilian centre back Lucio and compatriot midfielder Thiago Motta suspended. Left back Davide Santon is injured while fellow teenage striker Mario Balotelli has been left in the cold for the last month after another falling out with coach Jose Mourinho.

CSKA have no worries about tiredness in their first European Cup quarter-final in 17 years with the Russian league in its early stages. They should be at full strength with Chile winger Mark Gonzalez looking to shake off the muscle spasms which forced him to miss Friday’s 2-0 league win at Anzhi Makhachkala. CSKA earned a hard-fought victory with goals from Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda and Czech striker Tomas Necid to move into a share of first place after three games.