Hansi Flick's side will be looking to avenge Barca's defeat at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Inter back in 2010, the only other time these two European giants have met in the knockout stages of the competition.
On that occasion, Barcelona were the reigning UCL champions and had the reward of a final at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium were they to progress. Ultimately, a 3-1 loss at the Giuseppe Meazza and a 1-0 win at Camp Nou saw them conquered 3-2 on aggregate.
Cue Mourinho's famous run onto the pitch to celebrate with the Inter contingent high up in the stands.
Despite a defeat that still rankles, Barcelona can take heart in the fact that they are unbeaten in their six home games against Inter in the Champions League (W5 D1).
Those five home wins are Barca's joint-most against an opponent in the competition (also five v AC Milan), while the only team they’ve hosted more often in the competition without losing is Chelsea (seven times).
Barcelona unbeaten against Inter at home in Champions League
If the hosts are able to get their natural game going on Wednesday, they could add another win to that record, and the tie might even be over as a contest before the second leg, as Inter have recently started to wobble.
After being in imperious form for the most part this season and on course for a potential treble, they've drawn with Parma and lost to both Bologna and Roma in their last three Serie A games to hand the advantage in the title race to Napoli.
A jarring 3-0 defeat to rivals AC Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final a week ago (4-1 on agg.) meant that the Rossoneri and not the Nerazzurri will be contesting the final against Bologna.
This certainly isn't the time for Simone Inzaghi's squad to be putting in their worst performances of the season either as Barcelona haven’t lost any of their six home matches in the Champions League this season (W5 D1), while scoring 21 goals in the process.
Only in the 1999/20000 edition have they ever netted more at home in a single UCL campaign (29 in eight games).
The two teams have faced each other on 16 previous occasions in Europe, with Barca winning exactly half of those (W8 D5 L3). They are, however, winless in the two most recent games (group stages of the 2022/23 competition (0-1 away, 3-3 at home)).
The unstoppable force against the immovable object
The games have almost always been entertaining, and there's very much a feeling of the unstoppable force against the immovable object ahead of this one.
89 league goals scored by Barcelona this season, as well as 37 in the Champions League thus far, give Inter an idea of the task set before them. With just 33 goals conceded, however, the Italians are perfectly capable of putting on a defensive masterclass.
To put that into a little more perspective, Barca are averaging 3.1 goals per game under Hansi Flick in the UCL; the second-most by a manager-club duo with 10+ games, after Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich (3.2).
However, Inter could equal the record for most clean sheets by an Italian team in a Champions League campaign (currently on eight), held by AC Milan in 2004/05 and Juventus in 2016/17 (both nine).
Despite that defensive outlook, Inter can still look to Nicolo Barella to provide some impetus to their attacks, as he has averaged more progressive passes per 90 (7.1) than any other player in the competition this season (min. 500 minutes played).
He also has the highest progressive pass percentage of any central midfielder (12% - also min. 500 minutes).
Martinez looking to equal Cavani's record
Lautaro Martinez has scored in each of his last five appearances for his club in the tournament, and if he scores against Barca, he’ll be just the second South American player to score in six consecutive UCL games since Edinson Cavani (seven between November 2016 and October 2017).
For the hosts, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have combined for more goals than any other duo in the Champions League this season (five - two Yamal assists, three Raphinha assists), while they’ve also created the most chances between one another of any teammate pairing (16 - eight each).
The Brazilian will be making his 25th appearance in the competition and has, to date, been directly involved in 26 goals (15 goals, 11 assists). Only two players in the history of the Champions League have more goal contributions in their first 25 games: Erling Haaland (36) and Luis Suarez (28).
Although they too have had some scares of late, Barca have only lost once in this calendar year, which was in the second leg of their quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund. Under Hansi Flick, the squad seem to be able to go up another gear if needed, and that's what Inter need to guard against.
Barca may have to forego high defensive line just this once
What the visitors do have in Martinez and Marko Arnautovic, however, are two strikers that are not only willing to get in behind Barca's high line, but are also able to hold up the ball and bring the likes of Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian into play down the channels.
Given the penchant for Jules Kounde and Gerard Martin to bomb forward at every opportunity, seeking out their own wide men could be Inter's best chance of success in both games. Hansi Flick's bravery in insisting on playing with a high line might therefore have to take a back seat just this once.
Should Inter play a 3-5-2 similar to their recent game against Roma, too, that could also stop Pedri and Frenkie de Jong from being able to penetrate in the central areas and thus stifle the Blaugranes' creativity and ability to open up play.
It's likely to be another high-stakes chess match, and it might not be until right at the end of the second leg that either side gets the opportunity to say 'checkmate.'
Follow the first leg of Barcelona vs Inter with Flashscore.
