FC Barcelona and Inter Milan will play this Wednesday the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The 'Azulgrana' team arrives full of encouragement and confidence after the victory against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final (3-2), while the 'Nerazzurri' team comes from a very tough week after being eliminated from the Coppa Italia and losing the lead in Serie A.
However, Barça knows very well the danger that Simone Inzaghi's team represents. The Italians have the best defense in the tournament, with only 5 goals conceded in 12 matches. The 'Culés', on the other hand, boast the most lethal attack in Europe, with 37 goals scored in their 12 appearances.
- 📺 Schedules and TV: when and where to watch the match live in Spain, Europe, America, Africa and Asia: SEE
In that sense, the tie presents a very interesting clash of styles. On the one hand, the verticality and forcefulness of Hansi Flick's Barcelona, which this season has crushed most of its rivals in all competitions. On the other hand, the tactical order and defensive rigidity of an Inter that also aspired to the treble just a couple of weeks ago.
⚽ Is Barça's machine unstoppable? Their overwhelming path to the semi-finals
So far, both teams have had similar paths to the 'semis', although Barça has achieved more overwhelming results. The 'Culés' debuted with a surprising defeat at home against Monaco (2-1), but then added six victories in a row to seal their qualification to the round of 16 as second in the league phase, with 19 points.
Young Boys (5-0), Bayern Munich (4-1), Red Star (2-5), Stade Brest (3-0), Borussia Dortmund (4-0) and Benfica (4-5) fell consecutively against the 'Azulgrana' team. Then, on the last matchday, the team drew against Atalanta (2-2) to close the league.
Already in the round of 16, Barcelona faced Benfica again, resolving the tie by an aggregate of 4-1 where Raphinha was the main protagonist. The Brazilian scored 3 of the 4 goals for the Catalan team and also gave an assist against the Portuguese.
And, in the quarter-finals, they had to face Borussia Dortmund again. Barça resolved the qualification in the first leg at Montjuïc (4-0), with a thrashing in which Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal scored. The 'Culés' fell in the return leg in Germany (3-1), but managed to hold the advantage to get into the 'semis'.
- 🔴 AS Monaco 2-1 Barça. Matchday 1 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Barça 5-0 Young Boys. Matchday 2 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Barça 4-1 Bayern Munich. Matchday 3 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Estrella 2-5 Barça. Matchday 4 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Barça 3-0 Brest. Matchday 5 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Dortmund 2-3 Barça. Matchday 6 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Benfica 4-5 Barça. Matchday 7 of the league phase.
- 🟡 Barça 2-2 Atalanta. Matchday 8 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Benfica 0-1 Barça. First leg of the round of 16.
- 🟢 Barça 3-1 Benfica. Second leg of the round of 16.
- 🟢 Barça 4-0 Dortmund. First leg of the quarter-finals.
- 🔴 Dortmund 3-1 Barça. Second leg of the quarter-finals.
In total, Barcelona has 12 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss so far, with 37 goals for and 17 against. The goalscoring average is, by far, the best in the tournament, with 3.08 goals per match.
⚽ Inter's path to the 'semis'
Inter, for their part, also failed to win in their debut against Manchester City (0-0). However, after drawing in England, they secured their qualification with four consecutive wins against Red Star (4-0), Young Boys (0-1), Arsenal (1-0) and Leipzig (1-0).
On matchday 6, the 'Nerazzurri' fell against Bayer Leverkusen (1-0), this being their only defeat so far. The team recovered with another victory by the minimum in Prague against Sparta (0-1) and a thrashing against Monaco (3-0).
At the beginning of the KO phase, Inter left Feyenoord in the round of 16 (4-1 on aggregate) and, in the quarter-finals, eliminated Bayern Munich after winning in Germany (1-2) and drawing at home (2-2).
Like Barça, Simone Inzaghi's side scored 19 points in the league phase and have accumulated 9 wins in the tournament, but with only 1 defeat and 2 draws. The Italians have scored 18 goals less than the 'Culés' (19), but have only conceded 5, 12 less than the Catalans.
- 🟡 Manchester City 0-0 Inter. Matchday 1 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Inter 4-0 Red Star. Matchday 2 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Young Boys 0-1 Inter. Matchday 3 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Inter 1-0 Arsenal. Matchday 4 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Inter 1-0 RB Leipzig. Matchday 5 of the league phase.
- 🔴 Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Inter. Matchday 6 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Sparta Prague 0-1 Inter. Matchday 7 of the league phase.
- 🟢Inter 3-0 AS Monaco. Matchday 8 of the league phase.
- 🟢 Feyenoord 0-2 Inter. First leg of the round of 16.
- 🟢 Inter 2-1 Feyenoord. Second leg of the round of 16.
- 🟢 Bayern Munich 1-2 Inter. First leg of the quarter-finals.
- 🟡 Inter 2-2 Bayern Munich. Second leg of the quarter-finals.
Inter, a very dangerous obstacle on the way to the treble
For Hansi Flick's team, the Champions League semi-final is the last major obstacle towards the treble. With the Copa title in their pocket and LaLiga one win away against Valladolid and another in the Clásico against Real Madrid (at home on May 11), the 'Culés' know that a win in the first leg against Inter could be key to securing passage to the final.
The history in the tournament favors the Catalans, with 6 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses in 12 previous meetings. The last confrontation between the two, in the 'semis', was for Inter (3-2 on aggregate), while the rest of the clashes took place in the extinct group stage.
However, the respect for the 'Nerazzurri' team is maximum, as it is a team with more experience in this phase of the Champions League. Inter were runners-up in 2023 against Manchester City (1-0) and have been achieving very good results in Simone Inzaghi's cycle after four seasons in which they have lifted six titles.
- 📋 Squad list: the list of Barcelona players called up for the match: SEE
Hansi Flick will once again bet on his gala XI against Inter
For the first leg against Inter, Hansi Flick will have the entire squad available, with the exception of the injured Alejandro Balde, Robert Lewandowski, Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal. The full-back and the striker still have options to be in the return leg in Italy, while the midfielders are practically ruled out until the summer.
In that sense, it is very likely that the coach will once again bet on his gala XI, the same one he put on Saturday in the Copa final on Saturday. Despite the wear and tear of playing extra time against Madrid, the 'Culés' arrive with four days of rest, one more than Inter and the impeccable first half in Seville gives strong reasons to maintain the line-up on Wednesday.
Thus, Szczesny will be in goal, with Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo and Gerard Martín in the back. Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will be in midfield, with Dani Olmo as attacking midfielder. In attack, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Ferran Torres will carry the offensive weight of the team.
Players like Ronald Araujo, Fermín López and Gavi also have good options to enter the XI, while Eric García, Pau Víctor and Ansu Fati will be other probable variants in the second half.
- ℹ️ Lineups: the possible starting XI of FC Barcelona Inter Milan: SEE
Inter arrives at their worst moment to the semi-final against Barcelona
Inter, on the other hand, will have to visit Barcelona looking to cut a streak of three defeats in a row and four games without winning. After drawing against Bayer (2-2) in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Simone Inzaghi's side fell in the league against Bologna (1-0).
In addition, they were thrashed in the second leg of the Coppa Italia 'semis' by AC Milan (0-3) and, on Sunday, they fell again against Roma (0-1), these last two defeats at home. The team has not even been able to score a goal in their last three appearances, this being their worst crisis of results of the 24-25 season.
Another bad news for the 'Nerazzurri' is the absence of Benjamin Pavard, ruled out for the two matches against Barça due to an ankle injury. Who should reappear on Wednesday in Montjuïc is Marcus Thuram, absent in the last two weeks due to muscular problems.
The Frenchman is the ideal partner of Lautaro Martínez in attack and represent the main offensive cards of a team that struggles to score more than a couple of goals per game. In 12 appearances in the Champions League, Inter only achieved this task on two occasions (4-0 against Red Star and 3-0 against Monaco).
- 📌 Follow live the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League FC Barcelona vs Inter Milan on FCBN and find out everything. Don't miss anything!