Champions League: Inter vs Barcelona – Betting Tips, Preview, and BuildaBet
In a thrilling Champions League semi-final second leg, Inter host Barcelona at San Siro, with the tie finely poised after a 3-3 draw in the first leg. According to Sporting Life, both teams have rotated heavily in their respective league games over the weekend, meaning both sets of players should be well-rested ahead of this crucial encounter.
The first leg between these two sides was a breath-taking game of football that yielded moments of utter brilliance, some luck, and six goals in total. As reported by Sporting Life, the second leg is expected to deliver something similar, with both teams likely to create scoring opportunities.
Barcelona have selection headaches ahead of this game, with left-back Alejandro Balde nearing full fitness but unlikely to start, and Jules Kounde injured. This means that Sporting Life predicts Eric Garcia to start at right-back, which makes him a good bet to be carded at 11/2.
As Sporting Life notes, Garcia has averaged 1.41 fouls per 90 minutes this season and has been carded four times in limited minutes. The refereeing appointment of Szymon Marciniak, who has shown he can go card crazy when required, also adds to the likelihood of Garcia collecting another card.
The pattern of the first leg is expected to be repeated, with Barcelona dominating possession and territory, but struggling to carve out good opportunities against a compact low-block Inter side. As Sporting Life reports, Inter are incredible at defending their own box, but they often give up plenty of shots from distance.
This makes prices around Raphinha 1+ shot on target from outside the box and Lamine Yamal 2+ shots from outside the box stand out. As noted by Sporting Life, Raphinha took four shots from outside the box in the first leg, hitting the target three times, while Yamal fired two shots from range.
Season-long data highlights how trigger-happy Barcelona’s two wingers are, with Raphinha averaging 1.96 shots and 0.73 shots on target per 90 minutes from outside the box in the Champions League. As Sporting Life reports, Yamal has averaged the same 1.96 shots per 90 minutes from outside the box.
In team news, Inter suffered a big blow last week with top scorer Lautaro Martinez likely out for this second leg. As reported by Sporting Life, Barcelona also rotated heavily at the weekend, but the win at Real Valladolid did see Marc-Andre ter Stegen return from a lengthy injury lay-off.
The predicted line-ups according to Sporting Life are:
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
Some interesting match facts, as reported by Sporting Life, include:
- This will be the 18th major European meeting between Internazionale and Barcelona.
- Barcelona have won just one of their six away UEFA Champions League matches against Internazionale.
- The first leg between Internazionale and Barcelona ended 3-3.
- Internazionale are looking to reach their third UEFA Champions League final since 1992-93.
Betting Tips:
- 1.5pts Raphinha 1+ shot on target from outside the box at 13/10 (Betfair)
- 1.5pt Lamine Yamal 2+ shots from outside the box at 17/10 (Betfair)
- 1pt Eric Garcia to be carded at 11/2 (Sky Bet)
These betting tips and predictions are based on the analysis provided by Sporting Life.
