Barcelona vs Internazionale 03/10/19

3 October 2019

Barcelona will kick-off their 2019/20 UEFA Champions League (CL) home campaign against Internazionale at the Camp Nou this midweek.

A goalless away draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Group F opener saw Barcelona keep a clean sheet for the fifth time in their last seven CL matches. It was also the second successive CL game in which the Catalans failed to find the back of the net following a 4-0 demolition to Liverpool in the second leg of their 2018/19 semi-finals tie. However, the reigning La Liga holders have racked up a 32-game unbeaten CL home run (W29, D3), with their last home defeat in the competition dating back to May 2013. The hosts picked up five wins in six CL matches on home soil last season (W5, D1), four of which were accompanied by a clean sheet. Furthermore, Barcelona have won all four of their previous CL home H2Hs, netting eight and conceding none across those fixtures.

On the other hand, the visitors started the CL campaign off on the wrong foot, playing out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Slavia Praha at home. It was Inter’s fifth consecutive CL match without a victory (D3, L2), with each of those stalemates ending with the same 1-1 scoreline. After finishing third in last season’s CL Group B behind Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, the Nerazzurri moved into the UEFA Europa League round of 32 where they hammered Rapid Wien 5-0 on aggregate (1-0 A, 4-0 H). But, their European adventure was in the round of 16, as they failed to score a single goal against Eintracht Frankfurt (0-0 A, 0-1 H). Far more comfortable at home, the Milanese giants have lost six of their previous nine continental trips (W1, D2, L6). What’s more, Inter have struggled to secure a single triumph in their last five visits to Spanish opponents (D1, L4), with their last away victory over La Liga side dating back to October 2004.