Italians out to cure travel sickness

Italy's finest take on Spanish opposition tonight aiming to put behind them a history of unhappy visits to Spain.

One win in 30 years
Juventus FC and Internazionale FC - Serie A's top two - take on FC Barcelona and Valencia CF in their respective UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with just one win in Spain between them in the last 30 years. That solitary success came just last year when Inter overcame tonight's opponents Valencia CF in the UEFA Cup quarter-final - it was Inter's first win on Spanish soil since 1970, and their third in 15 visits overall.

Draw enough for Inter
A draw at the Mestalla will suit Héctor Cúper's men tonight, following their 1-0 first-leg victory, but for Juventus attack is the priority after a 1-1 tie in Turin. Ahead of their match at Barcelona, however, Juve have to go back to a victory at the Camp Nou in the 1970/71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for their last win in Spain, since when 12 visits have yielded three draws and nine defeats.

Trezeguet missing
Barcelona beat them in the 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup and the 1990/91 European Cup Winners' Cup but more worrying for the Bianconeri coach, Marcello Lippi, is the continued absence of striker David Trezeguet through injury, meaning a likely start for Marco Di Vaio alongside Alessandro Del Piero.

Luis Enrique returns
Barcelona are unbeaten in this season's tournament and while they are without the suspended Gabri García, they welcome back Luis Enrique for his first Champions League start since 1 October. The experienced Asturian scored Barcelona's goal in the 1-1 draw at Real Madrid CF on Saturday. That result kept Barcelona in mid-table and means their only realistic route to next season's Champions League is by winning it this year. For this reason coach Antic has described the match as "our 'D-Day'".

Duo suspended
Juventus's 2-1 defeat of AS Roma, meanwhile, maintained their six-point lead at the top in Italy. Indeed Inter's 1-0 win at Brescia Calcio meant that Valencia were the only one of the four to lose at the weekend, 1-0 at Real Valladolid. Their coach Rafael Benítez has warned: "It is time for brave and clever players". Two players who will not be in action tonight, however, are Valencia captain David Albelda and Inter's Emre Belözoglu, both suspended after collecting red cards in the first leg.

Cúper's record
The presence of ex-coach Cúper could give Valencia fans cause for concern - certainly if they consider that in each of the past four seasons he has successfully guided a team through a European quarter-final, first RCD Mallorca, then Valencia twice and Inter last season. Not all the statistics favour the Spanish then; Italy's unhappy travellers may yet have a night to remember.