Simone Inzaghi said he had never faced a similar defensive injury crisis in his career ahead of Inter's Champions League last 16 first-leg clash with Feyenoord. 

Inter, who are one point clear at the Serie A summit following their 1-1 draw with second-placed Napoli on Saturday, have been crippled by issues in the full-back area. 

Federico Dimarco, Nicola Zalewski, Carlos Augusto and Matteo Darmian are all out with respective injuries, while goalkeeper Yann Sommer also remains sidelined. 

Yet Inzaghi is confident that his team can rise to the challenge and cope with their demanding schedule that sees them play four games before the international break. 

"We know we're in a bit of trouble in a very specific part of the pitch. But the principles of the game don't change, we're here to play in the round of 16, and we'll do our best," Inzaghi told reporters on Tuesday.

"We don't think, we play, knowing that we are in a big emergency. It had never happened to me since I've been coaching, because I have five fullbacks and all four who can play on the left have been injured.

"We know what work we've done to get here, but this is football and this is the calendar we have to face. We move forward with great confidence.

"It's a two-legged tie, but the lads know that the first leg is very important for us to go through. We have some small problems to solve, but I've seen great willingness from all the lads."

But Inzaghi has reason to be confident against Feyenoord, with Inter unbeaten across their last 11 games against Dutch sides in European competition since a 1-0 defeat to Wednesday's opponents back in April 2002.

They have also only lost three of their last 23 matches in the Champions League, and have only conceded more than one goal on three occasions in this run (12 conceded in 23 games overall).

Inzaghi, however, expects an intense match against Feyenoord, who have already stunned European giants Bayern Munich and rivals AC Milan in the competition this season. 

"They're a physical team with great quality. We know that it's not an easy place to play at home. I played there in 2000 with Lazio. I haven't been there as a coach yet, but I know it's a heated environment," Inzaghi said.

"They had already done great things in the Champions League, Bayern lost, Milan went out. We know there will be a return leg, but we have to think about tomorrow, with a few absences as there are in all teams."

This will be just the third meeting between the two teams in major European competition, with Feyenoord winning 3-2 on aggregate in the pair's prior UEFA Cup semi-final tie during the 2001-02 season.