Uefa Champions League quarter-finals: Paolo Maldini is expected to play in tonight's quarter-final second leg against Internazionale and unusually the Milan captain is preparing for an attacking match as their city rivals try to make good a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.

"I feel quite good and I am available," said Maldini, who sat out Saturday's 1-1 home draw against Brescia with a thigh strain. "We know that Inter will start strongly, but this is what we aim at, too. We will play openly, looking for a win.

"Inter will change something in their system, but I don't think they will switch from two strikers. We have a significant lead but we also know that it could be cut back in a very short time. We have to go out there and try and win the game, and not get involved in any calculating."

Inter, who have not beaten Milan in nine matches, including their away-goals defeat in the semi-final of the 2003 Champions League, have lost only two of their 39 games this season, both against Milan. However 17 draws have left them a distant third in Serie A so the return of Adriano - 10 goals in the Champions League already, 14 in Serie A - after injuring a knee on March 20 will give them added hope.

Juan Sebastian Veron is also expected to start as playmaker, with Andy van der Meyde supporting the strikers. "We have nothing to lose and must try to score three," said Inter's coach Roberto Mancini.

Mancini will draw comfort from the suspension of Milan's Rino Gattuso, probably to be replaced by Massimo Ambrosini, and their elimination in the quarters of last season's Champions League, when they threw away a 4-1 lead with a 4-0 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.

"It is a different situation than the one we found ourselves in at the Riazor [La Coruna]," said Milan's coach Carlo Ancelotti. "An away goal should sort out qualification and so we want to get one as soon as we can. We don't feel this is an away game for us, we feel at home."

Guardian Service