Barcelona are on the hunt for revenge as the Camp Nou plays host to Inter in Champions League Group C action. Inter were able to defeat Barcelona 1-0 in round three to edge them closer to knockout round qualification, whilst Barcelona are now desperate for a win to keep their Champions League hopes alive. It’s all to play for in a crucial match between two European giants. So, let’s take a look at our Barcelona vs Inter preview and potential lineups.
Match Preview
League Form
Inter followed up their 1-0 victory over Barcelona last week with a 2-1 away win against Sassuolo on Saturday afternoon. An Edin Dzeko brace, scored either side of a Davide Frattesi goal, ensured the Nerazzurri took home all three points. Simone Inzaghi was in desperate need of a win at the weekend since his side had lost their previous two Serie A matches against Udinese and Roma respectively.
The Nerazzurri were able to make up some ground on both Atalanta and Udinese, who occupy second and third place in the Serie A standings after their 2-2 draw. However, they remain eight points behind Napoli at the top of the table – the Partenopei defeated Cremonese in a 4-1 away victory on Sunday, whilst archrivals Milan are still five points ahead in fourth after they recorded an excellent 2-0 home win over Juventus on Saturday.
Head coach Xavi Hernandez continues in his sparkling La Liga form for Barcelona and they have now extended their run of consecutive league wins to seven after picking up a 1-0 victory at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday. Barca have been incredible from a defensive standpoint, conceding just one league goal all season and have now gone six consecutive La Liga matches without conceding a single goal.
Barcelona seem to have caught up with Real Madrid this season after the latter were clearly ahead of the pack last term, finishing 13 points ahead of Barca in second. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have still made an excellent start to the season and are in fact level on points with Barca after eight games.
Champions League Form
Robert Lewandowski has scored in just one Champions League game this season, with the Pole failing to find the back of the net against Inter and his former side Bayern Munich in Barca’s last two European clashes. Lewandowski also failed to get himself on the scoresheet over the weekend so the 34-year-old will be itching to find the back of the net against Inter on Wednesday.
Inter’s narrow win over Barcelona last week has eased the pressure slightly but the Nerazzurri know how crucial three points would be since it would put them six points ahead of Barca with just two group stage matches remaining, especially since both teams are still yet to face Bayern for a second time. Bayern currently top the group on nine points, whilst Inter are second with six and Barca are third with just three.
With three points from their opening three group matches, Barcelona know they need at least a draw to keep their Champions League knockout round hopes alive. Of course, facing Bayern and Inter away from home in their first three group matches made things even more difficult for Barca but they have an opportunity to put themselves back on the right path here.
Head-to-head
Inter’s 1-0 win over Barcelona last week was their first victory against the Catalan club since 2010. They were under the leadership of Jose Mourinho back then and the Nerazzurri went on to lift the trophy that season to complete the treble. The two teams seem to have levelled out since, in terms of quality, and the victory at the San Siro last week all but confirmed this. The last time Inter faced Barca at the Camp Nou was back in 2019 where Barca ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a Luis Suarez brace.
Team News
Barcelona
Frenkie de Jong made his return from the bench at the weekend against Celta Vigo after he missed the previous two matches. His return will be a boost but Xavi has seemed to prefer a midfield three of Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Gavi so far this season. Former Milan man Franck Kessie is also unlikely to play after picking up a thigh injury. Fellow Dutch international Memphis Depay continues to suffer with injury issues too and has missed the last three matches in all competitions.
Ronald Araujo continues to miss out due to a thigh injury that has required surgery, whilst fellow defenders Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Hector Bellerin all missed out over the weekend. Christensen has been a regular at the heart of defense so far this term, but he suffered ankle ligament damage in the reverse fixture against Inter last week and will miss out once again here.
Xavi rotated his side for their 1-0 win over Celta Vigo so Eric Garcia and Sergi Roberto could come back into the defense for this one. Veteran Gerard Pique could start at centre-back next to Garcia, whilst Roberto will battle it out with youngster Alejandro Balde for the right-back spot. Marcos Alonso and Jordi Alba are in contention at left-back. Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati could also both be in line for recalls to the starting lineup.
Inter
Marcelo Brozovic continues to be absent from the Inter team due to a hamstring injury and he has now missed their last two games. The Croatian will miss out once again here in a big blow for the Nerrazzuri. Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were deployed in the centre of midfield in the home fixture against Barcelona but Inzaghi may opt to field youngster Kristjan Asllani for a bit more defensive structure.
Romelu Lukaku also continues to miss out and is a big doubt for Wednesday. It is unlikely that the Belgian is fit for midweek but he has an outside chance of making the bench, whilst Joaquin Correa is also a big doubt after being unable to feature in the clash against Sassuolo at the weekend due to a muscle injury.
Inter vs Barcelona Potential Lineups:
Inter (3-5-2): Andre Onana; Milan Skriniar, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Kristjan Asllani; Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko
Barcelona (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Eric Garcia, Gerard Pique, Marcos Alonso; Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati