⭐ INTER - BARCELONA: UCL MATCH PREVIEW

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Barcelona host Inter at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Wednesday after winning the Copa Del Rey in extratime against Real Madrid on Saturday night. The blaugrana are still in line for the quadruble, while their opponents, who were also still alive in all competitions until last week, are coming off a terrible streak of 3 defeats. In only the span of 7 days Inter have been knocked out of the Italian Cup by rivals AC Milan and overtaken by Napoli as Serie A leaders.

Barcelona are hoping to end their season by knocked them out of the Champions League as well, and reach their first final since 2015, when Lionel Messi lead the team to their 5th CL title. This marks the first knockout stage battle between the clubs since the historic knockout by José Mourinho over Pep Guardiola in the magical 2010 Inter treble winning team. However, this time things are not looking as bright for Inter, and it will take a monumentous performance by the blakc-and-blue team to overcome this incredible Barcelona side. One thing is for sure, we are in for another clash of titans at the top of European football.

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Real Madrid will need another magical, and this time perhaps miraculous, night at the Bernabeu if they hope to overturn their disastrous 3-0 loss against Arsenal. What came as a huge shock to many, was yet another tactical masterclass by Arteta and his boys in what has been a phenomenal UCL run this season. The gunners remain an almost impregnable fortress, having never conceded more than one goal a game away this season in the UCL. The Gunners can also boast an almost incredulous record of not only having never lost to Los Blancos, but also never having conceded even one single goal to Real Madrid in all three of their encounters. Arsenal have managed to qualify to the next round in 18 of their last 20 UCL knockout matchups after having won the first leg at home.

Real Madrid can hold onto one small glimpse of hope given that Arsenal’s only two defeats have come against two Spanish clubs (Valencia and Barcelona). Los Blancos will almost certainly need a generational performance from both Mbappé and Vinicius if they hope to even have a chance to take the game to extra-time. However, coming back from a three goal deficit remains an almost impossible feat at these elite levels. Although, as everyone in Madrid knows very well, 90 minutes is a very long time at the Bernabeu. Tonight, we will find out once again if that saying holds true, or if Ancelotti’s boys will see their magical era of shocking UCL comebacks come to an end.