Previews

Stage set for classic semi-final

Date: 20/04/2010
Football betting

It's crunch time on Tuesday as Internazionale get ready to meet Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final first leg showdown.

Although there are no English teams left in Europe's premier club competition, all eyes will be on San Siro as two of the coolest coaches in the business look to grab a pivotal lead going into the second leg at Camp Nou.

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola know the spotlight shines upon them and with Barca the online betting favourites to retain the trophy they won last year, the pressure is on.

Both clubs sit in prominent positions in their domestic leagues with Inter lying just one point adrift of leaders Roma in Serie A while Barca top La Liga but their cushion over Real Madrid was cut to one point at the weekend as they were held to a goalless draw at city rivals Espanyol.

Barca are in exceptional form in all competition and since their 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid on February 14, they have failed to lose in 15 competitive fixtures.

In this spell they have hammered in 38 goals, but Inter are also in fine nick after grabbing five wins and a draw in their previous six encounters and five wins consecutively in the Champions League.

Will Barcelona grab a semi-final first leg lead against Internazionale on Tuesday evening at San Siro? - Latest Football Betting

It will be Mourinho who will be thirsting for revenge after the powerhouses met earlier this season in the Champions League group stage.

A dour scoreless draw was played out in Italy on September 16 but it was the Catalan giants who grabbed a 2-0 success two months later.

Despite Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic being rested for the clash, early strikes from Gerard Pique and Pedro sealed the win in Spain.

Barca will be without talismanic midfielder Andres Iniesta for the important meeting through injury.

He suffered a calf tear in his right leg at the start of April and he is expected to be out for a further three weeks.

Defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy is cup tied and has not travelled with the squad while Eric Abidal has made the gruelling coach journey, but it is unclear whether his thigh problem will rule him out.

Barcelona were forced to change their travel plans following the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has caused widespread disruptions to air travel around Europe.

Inter pair Davide Santon and Francesco Toldo have trained separately as they look to overcome their individual injury problems.

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