Preview: Inter Milan vs. Real Madrid

The Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou will play host to the second of three International Champions Cup matches in Asia on Monday when Inter Milan square off against Real Madrid.

Inter head into the game after losing 1-0 to rivals AC Milan, while Real will be playing just 72 hours after overcoming Manchester City by a 4-1 scoreline in Australia.

Inter Milan

After only finishing in eighth place in Serie A last season, Inter need the ideal preparation to make a fast start to the new campaign as they look to become a force in Italian football for the first time in a number of years.

Mancini has been given the freedom to make significant moves in the transfer market, with Geoffrey Kondogbia, Miranda and Martin Montoya all penning deals at the San Siro

They are still in the process of reshaping their squad, but they will take the positives from their pre-season results so far, despite slipping to two successive defeats.

Victories over Stuttgart Kickers and Carpi were followed by a narrow setback against Bayern Munich, before a youthful lineup succumbed to AC Milan on Saturday.

Losing to their bitter rivals is never easy to take, but given that Mancini fielding a second-string side and they only lost out to a wonder goal from Philippe Mexes, he won't be too concerned heading into the match with Real.

Recent form: WWLL

Real Madrid

Real Madrid head into Monday's match having played two games less than their opponents but new boss Rafael Benitez will be pleased with the progress of his side.

They were unfortunate to fall to a penalty-shootout defeat to Roma earlier this week, but the La Liga giants more than made up for that setback with a resounding success against Man City.

They were perhaps aided by City's lack of experience in the centre of defence but nevertheless, they took full advantage to run out comfortable winners.

Benitez would have enjoyed seeing Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo - two players who have been linked with transfers away from the club - get on the scoresheet, while many of the senior squad all got valuable minutes ahead of the upcoming campaign.

The former Napoli chief may use this match to further integrate his new signings, with full-back Danilo only making substitute appearances in Australia and goalkeeper Kiko Casilla not getting off the bench.

Recent form: DW

Team News

Mancini is expected to make wholesale changes to his starting lineup as he looks to end their tournament with a win.

The Italian boss could potentially name a completely different team to the one that began the fixture with AC Milan, with Montoya and Kondogbia likely to make another appearance for their new club.

As for Real, Benitez may start Casemiro in place of Isco, who played the best part of a full game against City on Friday.

Raphael Varane is a possible starter ahead of Sergio Ramos, while Danilo may get the nod over Dani Carvajal

Inter Milan possible starting lineup: Handanovic; Montoya, Juan Jesus, Ranocchia, D'Ambrosio; Kondogbia, Kovacic, Guarin, Hernanes; Palacio, Icardi

Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Pepe, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale

Head To Head

Inter and Real have met each other on 17 occasions in all competitions, with Inter having the upper hand with eight victories compared to six for Real.

The last fixture came just 12 months ago when Inter got the better of their Spanish opponents on penalties in the International Champions Cup in California after the match had finished 1-1.

However, it has been 17 years since the two clubs met in a major European tournament, with Inter securing a 3-1 victory at the San Siro in the Champions League group stages in 1998.

We say: Inter Milan 1-3 Real Madrid

Real are likely to want to make an impact in their first fixture in Asia so we expect them to run out fairly convincing winners. Inter could benefit from having used a youthful side at the weekend, but it's a big ask for them to overcome the Spanish giants.