Inter Milan face Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with the tie delicately poised.
The two sides played out a six-goal thriller at Camp Nou last week, with Barcelona twice coming from behind to snatch a draw.
Marcus Thuram scored the fastest goal ever in a Champions League semi-final, his backheel giving Inter the lead after just 30 seconds.
Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s advantage, but Lamine Yamal stepped up to the plate to drag Barcelona back into the game. His wonder strike on 24 minutes reduced the arrears while Ferran Torres grabbed an equaliser just before half-time.
In the second half, Inter reclaimed the lead through Dumfries yet again. This only lasted two minutes though as a Yann Sommer own goal levelled things up again. The goalkeeper was unfortunate as Raphinha’s strike from 25 yards clattered off the crossbar and hit him on the back.
INTER MILAN VS BARCELONA PREVIEW
While it is advantage Inter going into this second leg, Barcelona will feel they can bounce back from anything the Italian side put in front of them. Furthermore, the Catalans have a stronger head-to-head record in the Champions League era. They have won six of the 13 encounters they have played.
Both teams enter this game off the back of domestic wins. A Kristjan Asllani penalty in the ninth minute was enough for Inter to see off Hellas Verona in Serie A. Meanwhile, Barcelona beat Real Valladolid, coming from behind to win 2-1. Goals from Raphinha and Fermín López undid Iván Sánchez’s sixth-minute strike.
It is worth noting that both sides were rotated heavily with an eye on this Champions League fixture.
Inter were dealt a huge blow in the last leg, with top scorer Lautaro Martinez sustaining a hamstring injury. He will miss this match, giving either Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic a chance.
Defender Benjamin Pavard is also out due to injury, but midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu can feature after serving his suspension against Verona.
Simone Inzaghi completely rotated his squad for that Serie A win, so expect most top names to return to the fold for this clash.
Barcelona also made a raft of changes over the weekend, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen did make his first start after being out through injury.
First choice right-back Jules Kounde will be out, but Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde could be on the bench.
INTER MILAN VS BARCELONA – PREDICTIONS
Inter Milan Win
Inter have home advantage and have won 12 of their last 15 home matches in the Champions League, drawing the other three. They have also won nine of their last 11 home semi-final matches in European competition.
Draw
Both of the last two games between these two sides have ended 3-3 including the one last week. It is clear these two sides are very evenly matched, with attacking threats all across the pitch.
Barcelona Win
Barcelona’s attack is always a potent threat and their never-say-die attitude was on display in the first leg when they came from behind twice. Barcelona also have a much stronger head-to-head record against the Milan side.
INTER MILAN VS BARCELONA – BETTING TIPS
Barcelona Win
With the game so finely poised, this really could go either way. However, question marks persist about the age of Inter’s squad while the dynamism of Barcelona’s attack always finds a way. This will be close, but as last week’s game showed, Barca just have a way of scoring the goals they need.
Lamine Yamal to Score or Assist
Scorer of a wonder strike against Inter in the first leg, Lamine Yamal has been at the heart of Barcelona’s attacking threat this season. He has scored five goals in the Champions League this season and will undoubtedly be in the mix again.
Raphinha to Score or Assist
Scorer against Valladolid in La Liga last time out, Raphinha has scored 12 and assisted eight in the Champions League this season. Only Cristiano Ronaldo has been involved in more goals (21 in 2013-14) than Raphinha in a single season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
- Barcelona and Inter Milan have played each other 13 times in the Champions League era, with Barcelona winning six. Inter have won twice, while there have been five draws.
- Barcelona have only won one of their six trips to Inter Milan in the Champions League (D3 L2), a 2-1 victory in December 2019.
- Barcelona are aiming for their sixth Champions League final, while Inter are looking to secure their third.
- Barcelona have netted 40 times in this season’s Champions League. There have only been four other times a team has scored this number in the Champions League. They were Barcelona in 1999-2000 (45), Bayern Munich in 2019-20 (43), Real Madrid in 2013-14 (41) and Liverpool in 2017-18 (41).
- Inter Milan have not been beaten in 15 home matches in the Champions League (W12 D3).
- Inter Milan have won nine of their last 11 semi-final matches at home in European competition (D1 L1).
