Barcelona vs Inter – UEFA Champions League: Start time, team news, lineups

Barcelona hosts Italian giants Inter Milan in the opening leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal.

Who: Barcelona vs Inter Milan
What: UEFA Champions League semifinal, first leg
Where: Olympic Stadium, Barcelona
When: Wednesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT)

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With eight UEFA Champions League titles between them, Barcelona and Inter Milan begin their battle for the right to enter another final when they square off in the opening leg of their semifinal showdown on Wednesday night.

Barcelona, who have only lost a single match in 2025, will host Inter at the Olympic Stadium, with the two-leg series then moving to Northern Italy next Tuesday, May 6 for the return fixture at the famous San Siro venue.

Here is all to know before the semifinal opener between two of Europe’s football superclubs:

When did Barcelona and Inter Milan last play each other in the Champions League?

The teams last played on October 12, 2022, in a Group C fixture at the Nou Camp in Barcelona.

The teams drew 3-3 with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele – who, incidentally, scored the game-winning goal for PSG against Arsenal in the other Champions League semifinal on Tuesday – putting the Catalans ahead in the first half, before a frantic five-goal second stanza ensued, culminating with Robert Lewandowski scoring the equaliser in stoppage time to split the points.

FC Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski scores their equalising third goal (3-3) against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League group match in Barcelona, Spain on October 12, 2022 [Nacho Doce/Reuters]

Who did Barcelona and Inter Milan defeat to reach the semifinal stage?

Barcelona defeated last year’s UEFA Champions League runner-up Borussia Dortmund 5-3 on aggregate in their two-leg quarterfinal.

Inter Milan booked their place in the last four of the tournament with a thrilling 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at the San Siro on April 16, the Nerazzurri winning the closely fought series 4-3 on aggregate.

Team news: Barcelona

Manager Hans Flick will be without star striker Lewandowski, who is still recovering from a leg injury. In his absence, Ferran Torres is expected to lead the line again for Barca, just as he did in the Copa del Rey final win over Real Madrid last Saturday.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will hold his place in the starting XI, despite the availability of first-choice keeper Mar-Andre ter Steg, who is still working his way back to peak fitness after a long recovery from knee surgery.

Team news: Inter Milan

Inter will be without key defender Benjamin Pavard, who was injured in their 1-0 loss to Roma on Sunday. Pavard was instrumental to Inter’s success against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals, scoring what ultimately turned out to be the game-winner for the Nerazzurri in the second leg at San Siro.

Offsetting the huge loss of Pavard is the return of striker Marcus Thuram, who had missed the last three games with injury. The French international is strongly tipped to start against Barcelona.

Marcus Thuram of Inter Milan has played 31 Series A matches in the 2024-25 season, scoring 14 goals and dishing out seven assists [File: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images]

Possible lineups:

Barcelona possible starting XI: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Martin; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres

Inter Milan possible starting XI: Sommer; De Vrij, Acerbi, Augusto; Darmian, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram

Head-to-head:

The teams have played on 12 prior occasions:

• Barcelona wins: 6
• Inter Milan wins: 2
• Draws: 4

When did Barcelona and Inter Milan last win the UEFA Champions League?

Barcelona most recently won in 2015, while Inter Milan last tasted victory in 2010.

When and where is the 2025 UEFA Champions League final?

The winner of this semifinal heads to Germany on May 31 for the Champions League final.

European football’s largest annual showpiece will be played at the 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena in Munich.

One of the world’s great football venues – the Allianz Arena stadium in Munich, Germany – will host the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final [File: Matthias Schrader/AP]

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies