We have a heavyweight clash in Champions League Group C on Tuesday, as five-time winners Barcelona face three-time winners Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Both sides have taken three points from a possible six so far, with second-place Barcelona leading third-place Inter on goal difference.
L'allenamento dei nerazzurri in vista di #InterBacellona 💪⚫🔵#ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/get9VHo5Mb— Inter (@Inter) October 2, 2022
L'allenamento dei nerazzurri in vista di #InterBacellona 💪⚫🔵#ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/get9VHo5Mb
With first-place Bayern Munich sitting three points clear of Barca and Inter – and last-place Viktoria Plzen on zero points – the importance of Tuesday’s clash cannot be overstated.
Inter suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Bayern on Matchday 1. Bayern racked up a whopping 21 shots at the San Siro, while the hosts achieved just two attempts on target.
The Italians bounced back on Matchday 2, however, claiming a 2-0 away victory at Viktoria Plzen. On that occasion, they chalked up 19 shots and 72% possession.
That said, Inter head into Matchday 3 on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Roma in Serie A – meaning they find themselves outside the top six as things stand.
Not only have Inter lost each of their last two Serie A games, but they have also lost four of their previous six. Can they return to winning ways against Barcelona?
As for Barca, they thrashed Plzen on Matchday 1. The Catalans registered 20 shots and 77% possession, with Robert Lewandowski netting a hat-trick.
However, Xavi’s men were humbled by Bayern on Matchday 2. The Bavarians beat Barcelona 2-0 before the international break.
Barca have enjoyed a hugely impressive start to their La Liga campaign. After drawing on Matchday 1, the Catalans have collected six straight wins.
Having scored over 2.5 goals in six of their nine games across all competitions this term, Xavi’s side will be confident of frustrating Inter on Tuesday.
Head-to-head: Inter and Barcelona faced each other twice in 2018 and twice in 2019. Barca claimed three wins, while the other meeting ended in a draw.
When you look at the bigger picture, there have been ten UCL meetings between 2003 and 2019. Inter only managed to claim one victory in that time, with Barca claiming six.
Team news: Inter will be without the injured trio of Alex Cordaz, Dalbert and Romelu Lukaku on Tuesday. How will they cope without Lukaku?
On the flip side, Barca’s injury list contains Ronaldo Araujo (muscle), Hector Bellerin (foot), Memphis Depay (muscle), Jules Kounde (muscle) and Frenkie de Jong (thigh).
While Inter have struggled to find their feet this season, Barca have made a hugely impressive start to the campaign.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Barcelona will claim all three points on Tuesday – sealing a low-scoring victory while keeping a clean sheet.