Stramaccioni to give youth a chance in Russia

Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni has indicated he will start some of his younger players against Rubin Kazan on Thursday.

The Serie A giants travel to Russia for the Group H clash having already qualified for the latter stages of the Europa League.

And, with progress assured, Stramaccioni is looking forward to giving some new faces a chance to impress.

“This match against Rubin is an important moment for our youth academy,” he said.

“We’ve got 10 lads here under the age of 21, some of them will definitely play. It’s an opportunity to see if some of these youngsters might be ready if they’re called upon.

“If in the early stage of the Europa League we made changes through choice, now we’re doing it out of necessity.

“Since the draw was made we knew that we’d have three long away trips. We’ve done two and tomorrow we’re up against Rubin, who are top-class opposition, the best in the group along with us.

“We’ll give it a go tomorrow, but once we get to the knockout phase it will definitely be more difficult to change so many players because the team as a unit will be important.”

Both teams have already qualified from the group, having taken 10 points from their four games.