Tuesday 6th November 2000hrs Inter Milan v Barcelona Football – Europe – Champions League Both of these clubs have won the Champions League in the last 10 years and are in strong positions to make the knockout phase of this year’s running, at the halfway stage. It was Barca who were victorious in the first match a fortnight ago and it leaves them in pole position to qualify top of Group B but the beauty of these double headers is that the picture can change quickly and Inter will be hoping that’s the case as they return to the San Siro. Match preview of Inter Milan versus Barcelona with a selected best betting tip, below.
It was a ponderous start to Inter’s season as a whole but the recent signs are that they are really beginning to find their stride and although they have carried some luck in their European matches, they are well placed to reach the last-16 with six points from a possible nine and two of their first three matches being away from home. Their only defeat in their last 10 matches was the 2-0 reverse at the Nou Camp two weeks ago but they have followed that up with two excellent wins in Serie A against Lazio and Genoa, scoring eight goals in the process without conceding. That makes it nine wins out their last 10 and they’ll go into Tuesday’s match against the Catalans in great spirit. One of their failings over the last couple of seasons has been the reliance of Mauro Icardi when it comes to scoring goals and although the Argentinian remains a hugely influential player, goals are being shared much better around the team. That was no more evident against Genoa at the weekend in their 5-0 win that contained four different scorers and with Icardi watching it all happen from the bench, resting ahead of this game.
It’s often been asked over the past decade or so just how would Barcelona cope without Lionel Messi and we have had a glimpse of that this past month with Messi injured at the beginning of October. Since being taken off against Sevilla, Barca have won four straight between La Liga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey. The highlight of those was obviously a 5-1 victory over Real Madrid in El Clasico but it’s probably not been as comfortable as the end results would suggest, which is probably to be expected considering Messi’s importance to this team. Luis Suarez has stepped up to the plate scoring four goals but there’s no doubt Barca’s chances of success this season will be strengthened when their captain and number 10 returns. There’s a good chance he could play some part of Tuesday’s game in Italy having been named in Barcelona’s squad to travel and that would be a boost for everybody as Ernesto Valverde attempts to secure the club’s qualification to the next round by getting at least a point in the San Siro.
Inter Milan v Barcelona Betting Tip
This was deemed to be the ‘group of death’ when the draw was made back in August but Barcelona have taken everything in their stride thus far and are within touching distance of once again qualifying for the knockout phase and winning the group in the process. They can do both by winning in the San Siro but I expect it will not be as straightforward as their win a fortnight ago – even if Messi returns to action. Inter have been impressive domestically and whilst this is a step up (and a big one at that), they are in a really good place at present and being able to rest a host of their big players in the weekend win over Genoa will have allowed them to prepare especially for a game that could go a long way to deciding their own participation in European football for the rest of the campaign. A win would be a massive step to qualifying for the knockout phase of this competition but knowing that four points from their next three games would almost certainly see them finish second then all will not be lost no matter what happens.
Barcelona once again showed their defensive deficiencies when edging past Rayo Vallecano 3-2 away from home in La Liga and Inter have to take inspiration from that and show more belief than they did two weeks ago. With the form they are in in front of goal they should have no shortage of confidence to trouble the visitors and I’m banking on them to do just that. They’ve failed to score in only one of their home games this season whilst Barca have kept only two clean sheets on the road this term – take both teams to score.
Selection: Both teams to score 4/6 @ Betfred
