Inter and Barcelona anticipate another thrilling clash in the second leg at San Siro after the 3-3 draw as they bid to enter the 2024/25 Champions League final.
INT vs BAR Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 6 May 2025 / Wednesday, 7 May 2025
Time: 21:00 (CET), 00:30 (IST)
Venue: San Siro Stadium, Milan
INT vs BAR Match Preview
Even though the tie is at a balance, which is a good result to take to the home leg, Inter will be ruing themselves for not keeping their 2-0 lead and later when they went 3-2 up, as the first leg ended 3-3 at Barcelona. Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal was flagged toe-nail offside as Marcus Thuram's quickest goal in a Champions League semifinal inside 3-0 seconds and Denzel Dumfries’s double did not offer a victory. The Nerazzuri also needed to thank Yann Sommer, who denied Raphinha late in the game to keep the scoreline unchanged. Now, Simeone Inzaghi’s men welcome the best scoring side at the San Siro, where they are unbeaten in their previous 15 games in the Champions League, winning 12 of them and losing just once in six home meetings in this fixture. Inter also eliminated Barcelona in the last semifinal appearance, having enough records backing them in the Tuesday night battle. The team also returned to winning ways in Serie A over the weekend after the 3-3 first leg draw ended a three-game sequence providing them much-needed momentum. Inzaghi knows another hard battle awaits them, like the game in his 50th European appearance, as they pursue a second final in just three years, so they are hoping to contain the brute force more efficiently in front of home support.
Barcelona showed the relentless fighting mentality in the first leg that made them an undisputed frontrunners for every trophy this season, with star-kid Lamine Yamal and Raphinha starring in the fightback from 2-0 down, which threatened to derail their chances of their fascinating quadruple chase. The visitors are now only one effective performance away from reaching a first Champions League final since 2015. Having picked up Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey honours, with La Liga almost within arm's reach, with an El Clásico next weekend as Flick’s side enters the deciding period of their season, there will be no excuses if the Blaugrana suffer an unlikely catastrophic failure that will put a dent on their incredible transformation after years of slump. Barcelona lost the last away game in the Champions League, a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, their only negative result in 2025 in all competitions, but it was more to do with their comfortable 4-0 home leg victory. The situation is different now, with the tie firmly in the balance and despite injuries depleting the squad wish to book their ticket to Munich without much hiatus. History does not back them, but their hot form does match by their stellar scoring record, 40 in this edition, making them the second most in Champions League history.
INT vs BAR Recent Form (all competitions)
INT: LLLDW
BAR: WWWDW
INT vs BAR Recent Form (Champions League)
INT: WWWDD
BAR: WWWLD
INT vs BAR Head to head (Champions League)
Pld - 13
INT won - 2
Drawn - 5
BAR won - 6
INT vs BAR Head to head (at San Siro)
Pld - 6
INT won - 2
Drawn - 3
BAR won - 1
INT vs BAR Team News
Star striker Lautaro Martinez suffered a hamstring injury in the first leg, which also kept him out for the weekend and is a major doubt for the return leg. If he is not fit, Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic would partner with Marcus Thuram, while Benjamin Pavard is not in contention with an ankle problem.
Barcelona are also reeling with injuries, especially in the full-back region, with Copa del Rey final winner Jules Koundé not looking to be fit until the final day of the La Liga season and the Champions League final, should the team qualify. The right-back picked up a foot injury in the first leg and was withdrawn before half-time. However, the encouraging news for the side is that Robert Lewandowski has made it to the travelling squad after missing the last four games with a hamstring injury.
INT vs BAR Predicted Lineups
Inter
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Taremi, Thuram
Barcelona
Szczesny; Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martinez; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres
INT vs BAR Dream11 Match Prediction
Despite Inter’s fervour at home, it will be an uphill task to beat the machine Barcelona has been this season, with their trump card of having top individual qualities in the frontline to bail them out from tough situations. Their high-line pressing is risky but has rarely failed to deliver this campaign, which they want to maintain in the second leg to confirm their spot in the final. We predict a 2-1 win for Flick’s side (5-4 on aggregate).
INT vs BAR Dream11 Top picks
Captain Pick: Lamine Yamal
Vice-captain Pick: Raphinha
INT vs BAR Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Sommer (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 296)
DEF: Dimarco (Cr - 8), Cubarsi (Cr - 8, Pts - 251), I Martinez (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 301)
MID: Yamal (Cr - 9, Pts - 634), Pedri (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 379), Calhanogolu (Cr - 8, Pts - 346), Dumfries (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 205)
FW: Thuram (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 244), Torres (Cr - 8, Pts - 197), Raphinha (Cr - 9, Pts - 990)
Vice-captain: Raphinha
Captain: Lamine Yamal
