Barcelona v Internazionale Milano
Football: Europe, UEFA Champions League
Tuesday, 24th November 2009 - Kickoff 19:45

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Barcelona (Spain) 3rd 1-2-1 3:2

Barcelona might be the holders of the Champions League trophy, but after a topsy-turvey start to the group, Barca are on a knife edge and a loss here could mean elimination by the end of the night.

It's not quite gone right for Barcelona this season, with Russian champions Rubin Kazan providing the biggest shock coming into the Nou Camp and winning, and then drawing the return fixture.

While in Spain, Barcelona are unbeaten with an 8-3-0 record, but that's only good enough for second spot in the table as Real Madrid leap-frogged the Catalan side on the weekend after Barca were held at Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona Team news :
Out : Yaya Touré (illness)
Doubtful : Lionel Messi (groin), Gabriel Milito (knee), Eric Abidal (left thigh, illness), Rafael Márquez (illness), Zlatan Ibrahimović (hamstring)

Inter Milan (Italy) 1st 1-3-0 5:4

Inter Milan were only a couple of minutes away from a catastrophe in their last group game, trailing Dynamo Kiev 0-1 late on, until goals from Milito (86) and Sneijder (89) stole the points and the win.

Domestically, Inter Milan are sitting on top of Serie A with a 10-2-1 record and a five point lead over Juventus, and frankly the Italian league seems to be almost too easy for Inter this season.

However, the question is whether Inter can transfer their domestic prowess onto the European stage, having not reached the quarter-finals in the last three years.

Manager Jose Mourinho has reputedly been brought to the San Siro to deliver a much desired European title for the Inter bosses - so this game is very important.

Inter Milan Team News :
Out : Davide Santon (knee)
Doubtful : Wesley Sneijder (thigh)

Head to Head

Barcelona won a clash between the two sides 3-0 here at the Nou Camp back in 2002/03. While in the reverse fixture, two scoreless draws have been played out at the San Siro.

THe Betting Verdict

It's crunch time for these two giants of European football, as they've allowed both Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev to gate-crash their cosy group, and it's now likely that only one of these two sides will qualify for the knockout stage.

Barcelona really need to win this game, while Inter Milan would be happy enough with a draw - albeit with a tricky home tie against Rubin Kazan to follow.

I felt that Barcelona were the dominant side in the first match, and with the added neccesity to get a win here I think that we should expect a full focused Barca effort in this match - despite Real Madrid looming on the weekend.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Barcelona 2-1 Inter Milan

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Barcelona 66% - Draw 16% - Inter Milan 18%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll take BARCELONA to win.