Barcelona will try to give their Champions League knockout stage prospects a big boost when they host Inter Milan at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
The Catalan club is third in Group C, three points behind second-placed Inter, who defeated the Catalans 1-0 at San Siro last week.
Barcelona failed to go past the group stage in the Champions League last season, and the club is facing that possibility again this season, with three points from three matches leaving them third in Group C, three points behind second-placed Inter and six points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Barcelona will be conscious of the importance of winning Wednesday’s game, and they will be relieved to be back at Camp Nou, where they have not lost in any competition since May.
While the Catalan club has struggled in the Champions League this season, they have been brilliant in La Liga, winning seven straight games on Sunday night with a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo, with Pedri scoring the only goal of the game in the 17th minute.
Barcelona is back on top of La Liga, level on points (22) with Real Madrid ahead of this weekend’s El Clasico at the Bernabeu, but Xavi’s team cannot afford to look ahead to Wednesday’s crucial European match.
Inter came into last week’s match against Barcelona having lost consecutive Serie A matches to Udinese and Roma, but a fantastic effort allowed them to take all three points.
With six points, they are in second place, three points behind Bayern, who are the overwhelming favourites to win the group.
Inter will also be fresh off a Serie A triumph, defeating Sassuolo 2-1, with Eden Dzeko scoring twice for the Milan giants, who sit seventh in their domestic league with 15 points.
When the Black and Blues last visited Camp Nou in the group stage of the 2019-20 competition, they were defeated 2-1.
but Barcelona have lost three of their last six Champions League matches in front of their own supporters, which is a record that should hand the visitors confidence.
