Internazionale-Barcelona Preview

Inter Milan will try to continue their good run of form against CL favourites Barcelona, while Barca will hope to continue their CL unbeaten streak against Inter.

Inter Squad:
Goalkeepers: 12 Julio Cesar, 21 Paolo Orlandoni, 51 Vid Belec.
Defenders: 2 Ivan Cordoba, 4 Javier Zanetti, 6 Lucio, 13 Maicon, 23 Marco Materazzi, 25 Walter Samuel, 26 Cristian Chivu.
Midfielders: 5 Dejan Stankovic, 8 Thiago Motta, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 11 Sulley Muntari, 19 Esteban Cambiasso.
Strikers: 9 Samuel Eto'o, 22 Diego Milito, 27 Goran Pandev, 45 Mario Balotelli

Barcelona Squad:
TBA; Iniesta is out, but Ibrahimovic and Abidal are back in full training, so should be in the match day squad

 In what is clearly the prime Champions League Semifinal match-up, Barca's tiki-taka maestri take on Mourinho's Internazionali at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano. Barcelona have taken the long coach ride to Milano because of the disruption of air travel in Europe, but despite fears that the match would be postponed, so far there has been no indication from UEFA that a postponement is likely.


With Inter at full strength, expect the Mourinho to go with his strongest team, Eto'o and Milito up front, with Sneijder playing in the hole behind them. Cambiasso and Motta are nailed-on to start in the middle, while Muntari and Stankovic battling out for the other midfield spot. The defence will be the usual lineup of Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, and Zanetti. It is also possible that Mourinho will look to exploit Barca's jury-rigged defence by starting the explosive Balotelli as a winger; that said, Mourinho is more likely to take a safety-first approach, knowing how important it is to keep a clean sheet at home.


Barcelona on the other hand do not have a full squad to choose from; besides Iniesta, Chygrynski is also unavailable, with 20 year-old central defender Andreu Fontas called up from the reserves to replace him on the bench. Neither Ibrahimovich nor Abidal is likely to be at full fitness, so it is possible that Guardiola will be forced to alter his preferred 4-3-3 formation. Guardiola has pledged that he will stick to his attacking philosophy however, so Alves, Piquet, Puyol, and Maxwell will likely start in the back, with Toure, Xavi, and Busquets in the middle, and Messi, Ibrahimovich, and Pedro providing the trident attack. Barcelona played extremely well with the same formation in the 0-0 draw against Inter in the group stages, so while Inter have dramatically improved since then, Barca have reason to be confident.
 
Tactical Analysis
 Mourinho is most likely to be cautious in his approach to the match, knowing the dangers that Barca pose, as well as the importance of keeping a clean sheet at home. As everyone knows by this point, Barcelona can be stopped, but it requires aggressive closing down, midfield pressing, and endless running. Mourinho will try to nullify Barca's midfield with Cambiasso, Motta, and Stankovich, with all three players likely to be focused primarily on winning back the ball and closing down space. They will keep their play simple, make sure not to lose possession to Barca's high pressing, and rely mainly on Sneijder to provide creativity and flair. 
The midfield will have to be very smart though, and be careful to balance and cover for Zanetti and Maicon on the flanks. Maicon and Zanetti are crucial to Inter's tactics, providing powerful overlapping runs on the flanks, crosses, defensive solidity, and as Maicon spectacularly demonstrated against Juventus last week, the occasional goal threat. Against Barcelona, they will have to be vigilant defensively; if they get caught up-field, and leave Inter's center-backs open to Messi and Pedro's runs from the flanks, Inter will concede goals. Inter's midfield trio will have their hands full with Barca's passing, and it will be tempting for both fullbacks to move up-field against Barca's narrow midfield, pressuring Maxwell and Alves. There is no doubt that both Inter fullbacks are better than their counterparts for Barca, and if Inter can keep possession and press Barca up the field, Barcelona's defence will be theirs for the taking. Maicon in particular will be able to get the better of whoever plays at left-back for Barca, and his runs from wide will likely draw one of either Busquets or Toure as cover in addition to Maxwell, pulling Barca's midfield out of shape, and leaving their defence short on cover. Alves of course, is well-known for his willingness to bomb forward and leave the flank open to attack, and while Zanetti is not as quick as he used to be, his exceptional endurance and work-rate mean that he will be more than willing to push up and exploit this weakness.


For Barca, the key is how well they keep possession, as always. If they can keep it like they did in the 0-0 draw earlier in the CL season, they will have an excellent chance of coming away with a good result. While the inventive Iniesta is out, both Busquets and Toure are both good enough to keep possession via Barca's tiki-taka style, as well as providing defensive cover for Puyol and Piquet. They will have to quick on their feet however, with Inter's midfield sure to press, and make sure to close down Inter's fullbacks quickly. Inter will be looking to win the ball back in midfield and counter quickly, and any sloppiness will be punished. If Barca can avoid mistakes in midfield, and Xavi gets the time to pull the strings as he did against Real Madrid, then Barca will leave Milan with a good result. 


Key Players:

Internazionale: Cambiasso
If Cambiasso can do his job, shield the back four, and help keep possession in midfield, Inter will win the match. With his experience and dependability, he will be relied on to snuff out Inter's attack, and provide the more creative players with both a safe passing option and a consistent source of the ball. Should he accomplish this, expect Inter to create plenty of opportunities, and for Lucio and Samuel to have an easy night dealing with Ibrahimovic.


Barcelona: Ibrahimovic
In what will probably end up being a tight and tactical affair, having a striker who is confidant and playing well is crucial to turning the half chances in to crucial away goals. As Torres has so often demonstrated for Liverpool, a team that isn't creating much can nevertheless survive if the striker puts the ball in the net given half a chance. Ibrahimovic has too often been mediocre this year, with neither the showy tricks nor the simple finishes working out for him. However, his recent 2 goal haul against Arsenal may have boosted his confidence, and while he still isn't playing particularly well, he is beginning to score again. While Messi is of course the most brilliant player in the world, expect him to be very closely marked against Inter, and it won't be surprising if his influence isn't decisive. As a result, it is imperative for Barcelona that Ibrahimovic performs. There is no doubt that he will have his chances to score, as Barcelona simply don't fail to create chances, but if he reverts to his recent bad form, then expect Barcelona supporters to be very frustrated come the end of the match. A good finish or two however, and Barcelona will likely be hoisting the Champions League trophy in May.


Prediction:
Inter 2-1 Barca
While Barca will pass the ball around nicely, they will be unable to penetrate Inter's deep defences, and while Messi might create or score a masterpiece, expect Inter to make their attacks count, leaving the tie delicately poised.