FC Barcelona vs Inter

The treble remains very much alive for Barcelona after Hansi Flick led his side to a 3-2 win over Real Madrid in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final. "It was incredible. We are all so proud of this team, and it's a great victory for us," the German coach said after picking up his second trophy at the club. A four-point lead at the top of the table after a 1-0 win over RCD Mallorca last Tuesday leaves Barcelona on the verge of reclaiming the La Liga title from archrivals Real Madrid. Back in the UEFA Champions League, a 5-3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals helped the newly crowned Copa del Rey champions set up Wednesday’s UCL semi-final against Inter. This will be their 17th meeting on European turf, with the Spanish side emerging as the better side in half of those encounters [8W, 5D, 3L]. However, the contest is only the second knockout encounter between both teams, after Barcelona suffered elimination at the hands of Inter in 2009-10. While fears of a decade-and-a-half-old exit could haunt them, Barcelona will be counting on their superior home record against Inter as a source of inspiration. Avoiding defeat here will see Hansi Flick’s side extend a six-game unbeaten home run against Inter in the UEFA Champions League [5W, 1D, 0L]. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Ferran Torres in attack may be seen after the joint-third highest goal scorer in the Champions League, Robert Lewandowski [11 goals], joined Barcelona’s injury list.

A shock 1-0 loss to Roma at the weekend left Simone Inzaghi's side without a victory in four matches across all competitions [DLLL] and a domestic title chase hanging in the balance. Successive 1-0 losses in Serie A saw the Nerazzurri slip into 2nd place, three points behind table-topping Napoli with four matches left to play. With hopes of picking up the Coppa Italia title having gone up in smoke following a 4-1 loss to city rivals Milan, Wednesday’s UCL clash with Barcelona could be Inter’s season-decider. “We know what kind of team Barcelona is; yesterday’s game [vs. Roma] wasn’t necessary. We’ll come out with respect, but without fear,” Inzaghi told reporters. While the pep talk will do some good for bruised egos, it doesn't erase Inter’s torrid away record against Spanish opposition, which leaves his side with 18 defeats in 25 such games [3W, 4D, 18L]. Inzaghi is expected to opt for a 3—5—2 formation, with Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram in attack.