Barcelona welcome Inter Milan to the Nou Camp tomorrow night looking to give their Champions League knockout-round hopes a boost in what will be a key encounter.
The two locked horns last week at the San Siro where the Italians beat the Spanish giants 1-0. It has left Barca in third spot in Group C, three points behind second-placed Inter and six behind leaders Bayern Munich. Viktoria Plzen are rooted at the bottom of the group.
The Catalan outfit did not progress through the group stage of Europe's premier tournament last season and they are facing that possibility again this term. They must win their remaining games if they want to avoid another shocking relegation to the Europa League. They have only collected three points from three matches and they know how vital a win would be tomorrow to have a chance of making it to the knockouts.
Solid record
They opened their group-stage campaign with a convincing 5-1 victory over Plzen but then lost to Bayern and Inter in their next two games. However, they will be confident tomorrow night as they have a solid record at the Nou Camp where they have not lost in any competition since May.
Although they have struggled in the Champions League this season, they have been excellent in La Liga and currently top the table after recording their seventh consecutive win on Sunday against Celta Vigo. They will go into the first Clasico of the season against Real Madrid next weekend having only conceded one goal in eight league games. They welcomed Frenkie de Jong back from injury in the 1-0 win at the weekend however they remain without Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin, Ronald Araujo, Memphis Depay and Jules Kounde.
As for Inter, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Cordaz, Joaquin Correa and Gabriel Brazao remain on the sidelines but striker Romelu Lukaku has a chance of making the subs bench. The Belgium international has been out of action since August due to a muscular issue and may not be risked to start meaning Eden Dzeko looks likely to feature alongside Lautaro Martinez in attack.
