Champs League: Inter-Barcelona Match Pick
By SHAWN YOUNG
Inter Milan vs. Barcelona (-0.5 +125, 2.5 under -130)
Inter beat Juventus 2-0 on Friday; Barcelona drew 0-0 away to Espanyol on Saturday.
Group Stage results:
Inter 0, Barcelona 0 (Matchday 1)
Barcelona 2, Inter 0 (Matchday 5)
The key to betting this game is to remember the 0-0 draw on Sept. 16. I’ll never forget that game, no matter how hard I try.
I was flying home from Vegas and watching it live on the headrest in front of me. Coach class! I was completely impressed with the bright, clear, uninterrupted picture. The game itself might have been the worst piece of crap I’d seen in five years.
Inter had absolutely no ambition to come forward with the ball. Inter hit it long and tried shots from outside. Barcelona had a full 67 percent of possession.
Barcelona was a little wary of Inter’s counter attack, so while Barcelona kept the ball and tried to attack, the Catalans always retreated quickly at the first sign of trouble.
The under is once again the play here as job No. 1 for Inter is not to concede an away goal. Inter might attack with a little more purpose itself this time, but Barcelona has been very stingy lately.
Since giving up a goal to Arsenal in the quarterfinal, Barcelona has shut out nine-time European Champions Real Madrid and city rivals Espanyol on the road, and blanked Deportivo at the Camp Nou.
These teams completed a rare blockbuster trade last summer, one of soccer’s biggest ever. (Most soccer moves are strictly player-for-cash). Barcelona sent Samuel Eto’o and a boatload of cash to Inter for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The ash cloud over Europe has forced most Barcelona players to travel the 600 miles of roads to Milan by bus, overnighting Sunday in Cannes. No word on whether Lionel Messi simply decided to walk across the Mediterranean Sea instead.
Inter will start a conservative lineup with two holding midfielders. Wesley Sneijder will be the only real source of supply to the forwards.
Eric Abidal (thigh) was named to Barcelona’s travelling party of 20, but only 18 will dress. Andres Iniesta (hamstring) is a month away from fitness after a training ground injury. Dmitrio Chygrynskiy is ineligible.
Pick: 0-0 draw