On Wednesday, Barcelona and Inter will meet in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. Barcelona are riding the high of winning the Copa del Rey and keeping their treble hopes alive, while Inter need to rebound after losing the Coppa Italia and slipping out of first place in Serie A.
What’s worrisome for the Italian side is that in their last three matches in all competitions, they’ve conceded five goals and scored zero. All of those matches have seen striker Marcus Thuram absent from the XI with a knock, but he could recover in time to face Barcelona, which will bring quite a boost. Alongside Lautaro Martinez, the movement from the duo not only creates space for both but also keeps the defense on their toes due to the devastating finishes that they can produce.
Thuram did return to training on Tuesday, and is now expected to start. Given his importance to what Inter does, his probable inclusion in the XI even if Thuram isn’t at 100%, will give the team a boost, especially facing a team with the quality that Barcelona has.
Robert Lewandowski won’t be available to Hansi Flick’s men through injury, but that doesn’t mean that the attack won’t have options. Ferran Torres is expected to lead the line, and his interplay with Dani Olmo could create issues for Inter, but it’s the wings of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal who can really make things happen. Raphinha has a strong argument to win the Ballon d’Or with 30 goals and 23 assists for Barcelona in all competitions this season, but Yamal isn’t far behind. Still only 17, Yamal has 14 goals and 24 assists this season.
That kind of production is unheard of at his age and he keeps improving. Lewandowski will be a big miss in the match, but when Inter have allowed plenty of shots in Champions League play this season, Barcelona will have chances to win. A shootout also favors the Spanish side, but if Thuram can play, things may also change a bit.
With the first leg taking place in Spain, there will only be additional pressure for Inter to end their poor run of form, and the defense will take another hit with Benjamin Pavard set to miss out. Barcelona’s high line will allow chances to Inter, but that may not be enough for the Italian side to keep up.
Predicted lineups
Barcelona XI: Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Kounde,, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Gerard Martin, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Ferran Torres
Inter XI: Yann Sommer; Yann Bisseck, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram
How to watch FC Barcelona vs. Inter and odds
- Date: Wednesday, April 30 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys– Barcelona, Spain
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: FC Barcelona -165; Draw +300; Inter +425
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