On Wednesday evening Barcelona welcome Italian heavyweights Inter Milan to the Camp Nou in a game that is perhaps worthier of being the final rather than a group game.
However, that scenario may still come true as both Barcelona and Inter Milan find themselves locked together on six points as the top two in a difficult group B.
We will learn much about both these sides during this encounter with both teams champions league final odds set to take a dramatic turn for better or for worse depending on the outcome.
So, who will win? And who has the edge coming into this titanic Champions League tussle?
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One thing Barcelona will possess coming into this game is confidence after a sublime 4-2 win over title rivals Sevilla which put the Catalan’s top of La Liga.
However, it ended a domestic run of four games without a win which only goes to prove that the Spanish giants are perhaps not quite the force they once were.
Prior to this game, Inter Milan faced the toughest of all domestic clashes, a derby with city rivals AC Milan.
A late Icardi strike ensured Inter made it seven wins from their last seven in all competitions meaning only one thing.
Luciano Spalletti’s men head to Spain full of confidence.
Head to Head
I Nerazzurri will head to Barcelona buoyed with the knowledge that the last time they played their Spanish rivals they eventually went on to lift the Champions League trophy under Jose Mourinho’s stewardship.
That was during the 2009/10 season in which the pair remarkably met four times and even more remarkably, Inter only won one of those four encounters.
Just like this season, the pair met in the group stage in 09/10 with the two sides drawing 0-0 at Inter’s San Siro and Barce taking the three points at the Camp Nou winning 2-0.
Fast forward to the semi-final and the Spaniards had reason to be confident but the Italians stunned Barcelona 3-1 at the San Siro.
A 1-0 win at home was not enough for Barce to avoid elimination with Internazionale beating Bayern Munich in the final.
However, overall it is Barcelona who boasts the strongest record having won half of the ten games in European competition between the two ever since their first meeting in 1959.
Prediction
Inter may feel that there has never been a better time to face Barcelona on their home patch especially with the firepower of Mauro Icardi.
However, only a fool would write off Barcelona at home and although there form overall has been a little patchy, they are yet to lose at the Camp Nou this season.
An entertaining 2-1 scoreline in favour of the home side is our prediction for this one with the ‘both teams to score’ market set to see plenty of action.
Josephus Grah says
Barcelona need to try by all mean to win this game