Barcelona vs Inter Milan Prediction: Back the Half-Time draw in Catalan Capital

We've made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League and we have four different leagues still represented, which is pretty cool. Arsenal and PSG got things going on Tuesday but for Wednesday, it is Barcelona and Inter Milan's turn to play again - 15 years after their epic affair when Jose got the better of Pep. TNT Sports 1 for UK TV with kick-off set for 20:00.

Our Madrid-based Spanish football expert Mark Sochon is casting his attention around 400 miles to the east for this one. He's expecting it be be tight early and has two bets for you, both at odds-against. You can check out what they are along with his Barcelona vs Inter Milan Predictions below...

Barcelona get their first taste of Champions League semi-final action in six years on Wednesday night, when Inter Milan pay them a visit at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. 

This will be the 17th meeting between the two clubs in European competition. Real Madrid are the only team that Inter have faced more frequently on the continental stage, so these are certainly two familiar foes, with Barça tending to have the edge with eight victories to the Italian side's three. 

Jose Mourinho's Inter did stun Pep Guardiola's Barça in the 2010 semi-finals though, so the visitors can certainly take a bit of inspiration from that as they again head into this tie as the underdogs. 

This is likely to be the sternest test yet in this season's Champions League for Barcelona. A strong league phase campaign dealt them a favourable knockout path, and they've reached the last four courtesy of 4-1 and 5-3 aggregate victories over Benfica and Borussia Dortmund respectively. 

Hansi Flick's side took a big step towards landing a potential treble at the weekend. Up against eternal rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final in Seville, El Clásico delivered yet another epic encounter with Barça ultimately prevailing 3-2 in extra time, thanks to a late thunderbolt from the unlikely source of Jules Koundé. 

Pedri had brilliantly given his team a deserved first-half lead, but unlike the other meetings this season, Los Blancos did not fold and they came on strong after the interval with two quick-fire goals turning the game on its head, before a late intervention from Ferran Torres forced an extra 30 minutes. 

The quick turnaround between two of the biggest matches of their season is not ideal, but Flick will be hoping his side can dig deep to produce another strong Champions League home performance. 

Barcelona have scored 21 goals in six home matches in the competition this season, scoring four against both Dortmund and Bayern Munich. They've not been quite at their very best in recent weeks though, with only one of their last eight competitive games producing victories by more than one clear goal. 

That still comfortably trumps Inter's form heading into this match. Simone Inzaghi's side have lost their last three fixtures without scoring, with their own treble dreams ended by a 3-0 defeat to city rivals AC Milan in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final last week. 

They've also surrendered their advantage in the Serie A title race as a result of 1-0 defeats against Bologna and Roma. They now trail Napoli by three points with four games to play, with the demands of a gruelling schedule perhaps catching up with them over the past fortnight. 

Inzaghi needs to find a way to convince his players to put their domestic disappointments to one side, whilst conjuring up a gameplan to thwart a free-scoring Barça side in the first leg of this semi-final. 

Inter can certainly draw inspiration from a strong record in Europe this season. Their solitary defeat came by a 1-0 margin in Leverkusen in December. They responded to that minor setback with five straight Champions League victories, before a 2-2 draw at home to Bayern was enough to seal progress from their quarter-final tie a fortnight ago. 

The Italian giants also only lost once in last season's competition, having reached the final in 2023 when they were edged out by Manchester City. In terms of Champions League experience, they certainly have an advantage on what is a pretty youthful Barça side, and Inzaghi will be hoping that can be a decisive factor on Wednesday night, and when the teams meet again next Tuesday in Milan. 

Team News: 

As was the case in Seville at the weekend, Barcelona will be without star striker Robert Lewandowski. Ferran Torres is set to lead the line once more, and the Spain international has been a very capable replacement for the experienced Pole of late. 

Alejandro Balde also missed the cup final, and remains a major doubt for this game, with youngster Gerard Martín likely to fill in at left-back once more if he doesn't recover. Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal are the only other absentees for the home team, with Wojciech Szczęsny set to continue in goal for now, despite the return to fitness of Marc-André ter Stegen. 

As for Inter, Marcus Thuram has been a fitness worry, but the French forward now stands a good chance of being available to feature at the Estadi Olímpic. His compatriot Benjamin Pavard is set to miss out though after spraining an ankle against Roma on Sunday. 

Alessandro Bastoni and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were suspended for that game, but should both return in Inter's usual 3-5-2 system for the first leg of this semi-final. 

Barcelona vs Inter Milan Odds

Barcelona are the 3/5 favourites to seal first-leg victory on Wednesday night. You can back the Draw at 3/1, while Inter are available at 4/1 to leave the Catalan capital with the lead in the tie. 

You can also back Draw or Inter at 5/4 in the Double Chance market if you fancy the Italians to be competitive. The visitors are priced at 2/1 to score over 1.5 goals, while they can be backed to win either half at 13/8. 

Alternatively, Barcelona are on offer at 3/1 to win both halves, while you can back the home team to score over 2.5 goals at 7/4. Flick's side have chalked up some big home victories in this season's competition, and you can back Barça and Over 2.5 goals at 6/5 here, while Barcelona -1.00 Handicap is priced at 8/5. 

With 12 goals in 12 Champions League games this term, the hosts can count on the services of the competition's second highest scorer Raphinha. He's priced at 5/1 to score first and 6/4 to score anytime, while you can back Ferran to get on the scoresheet at 13/10. 

From a visiting perspective, Lautaro Martínez is likely to be the main goal threat. The Argentina international averages a goal every 82 minutes in this season's Champions League and he's priced at 15/2 to score first and 11/5 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Half-Time Result - Draw @ 7/5 

This will be a different kind of test for Barcelona who have thrived on the space that the likes of Bayern and Dortmund have allowed them in previous Champions League home games this term. 

Inter are much more likely to adopt a defensive gameplan, and we have seen considerably weaker teams than them frustrate Flick's side in La Liga this season, by adopting a cautious approach. The hosts may also be feeling the effects of slogging it out with Real Madrid for two hours on Saturday night, so they may find it tough to come flying out the blocks here. 

The visitors' have only conceded one first-half goal in the Champions League this term, and I can see them making life tough for their opponents here, so I'm backing the Draw at 7/5 in the Half-Time result market. 

Bet 2 - Barcelona most corners & Under 3.5 goals @ 5/4 

With home advantage, the onus will be on Barça to play on the front foot and they should have the better of the game, but it's hard to see them inflicting as much damage on this strong Inter defence as has been the case in many other games this season. 

The absence of Lewandowski may also be felt on a night as big as this, with Ferran more effective in games where he has space to run into. He may struggle to get much change out of Inter's three centre-backs in this one. 

The Catalans do look good to win the corner count though. They average 8.29 corners per home game in the Champions League this term, while Inter have only won 4.76 per game on average on their travels. 

Given that, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Barcelona most corners and Under 3.5 goals at 5/4. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page.