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Inter Milan will seek to strengthen their position at the top of UEFA Champions League Group F when they take on holders FC Barcelona in arguably the most eagerly anticipated of all the Matchday 5 fixtures.

An exciting climax is unfolding in the tournament's most tightly congested section where only two points separate leaders Inter from bottom-placed FC Dynamo Kyiv. Inter ended an eight-match win-less run in the competition with a last-gasp victory at FC Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 4 and they can book a place in the last 16 by beating Barcelona. Barcelona had qualification sewn up by this stage last season but they enter this contest third in the section after taking just one point from their double-header with FC Rubin Kazan. If Barcelona lose and Rubin beat Dynamo Kyiv, the defending champions will be eliminated. They will be looking to avoid becoming the first defending champions to fail to get through a group stage since the UEFA Champions League began. However, it is worth mentioning that Barca have never lost two successive home games in Europe

This match marks Samuel Eto'o's first match back at the Camp Nou since his summer departure in the deal that took Zlatan Ibrahimović to Spain. It'll be interesting to see what kind of a reception Eto'o gets at his former stomping ground, where he wowed fans with 130 goals in just 200 matches. The game also incidentally brings Inter coach José Mourinho back to the club he once served as an assistant.

The two heavyweights last met at Camp Nou in February 2002 when Barca ran out easy winners courtesy of goals from Javier Saviola, Philip Cocu and Patrick Kluivert. But the scenario is completely different this time around as Inter go into this game in great form, having won 11 of their 14 League games this season. As usual, they are comfortably positioned at the top of Serie A with Juventus 5 points behind. On the other hand, the weekend saw Barca drawing again in the League which meant that they have picked up just a single point is 3 of their last 5 La Liga outings. Their recent indifferent form has also allowed Real Madrid to overtake them in the standings.

A major worry for Barca coach Pep Guardiola going into this crucial game will be the amount of injuries he has to deal with. The club fell victim to the H1N1 virus ahead of their trip to Bilbao, with Rafael Márquez, Yaya Touré and Eric Abidal all displaying symptoms. But the bigger worry for the Barca manager is the fitness of front men Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi, both of whom are major doubts to take on Inter. Ibrahimovic failed to take the field in Barca'a weekend draw with Athletic Bilbao because of a hamstring strain, whereas Messi picked up a thigh strain in the same game. So it is likely that Henry will start as the central striker with Pedro Rodriguez and Iniesta giving him company. Though, Guardiola might just consider risking Ibrahimovic or Messi considering the magnitude of the game.

For Inter the injury situation is less severe with only Wesley Sneijder and Davide Santon sidelined. Esteban Cambiasso's recent good form means that Patrick Vieira will in all likelihood start from the bench. With a draw being good enough for Inter, Cambiasso could also be partnered by Javier Zanetti in the middle of the park to keep Xavi in check. In attack, Samuel Eto'o could play as the lone striker with able support arriving from Dejan Stankovic, Inter's top scorer in this competition. But Mourinho might be tempted to start with Diego Milito, as the Argentine striker is Inter's top scorer this season in all competitions despite having played lesser number of games than Eto'o and Mario Balotelli.

In the reverse fixture on Matchday 1 the teams played out a goalless draw at the San Siro. While a similar result might suit Inter this time around considering they are at home on Matchday 6 to Rubin Kazan, anything less than a win for Barca could well mean that qualification from this group could be out of their own hands.

Likely Teams:

FC Internazionale Milano: Júlio César, Chivu, Zanetti, Lucio, Thiago Motta, Eto'o, Cambiasso, Muntari, Stanković, Maicon, Samuel
FC Barcelona: Víctor Valdés, Daniel Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Maxwell, Xavi Hernández, Keita, Busquets, Iniesta, Henry, Pedro,

Form Guide: Inter Milan (Last 5 games in all competitions: W - 4, D - 1, L - 0)

Inter Milan 5-3 Città di Palermo 
Livorno Calcio 0-2 Inter Milan 
Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Inter Milan
Inter Milan 1-1 Roma
Bologna 1-3 Inter Milan

Form Guide: Barcelona (Last 5 games in all competitions: W - 2, D - 3, L - 0)

Osasuna 1-1 Barcelona
Rubin Kazan 0-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 4-2 Mallorca 
Barcelona 5-0 Cultural Leonesa
Athletic Club 1-1 Barcelona

Did you know?

Pedro has equalled Giovanni Silva's 1997/98 club record of scoring in five competitions in one season: the Liga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

File Photograph Copyright: Shay