A defeat on Tuesday coupled with a Rubin Kazan victory over Dynamo Kiev in the next-to-last round in Group F would put Barcelona out of the competition and provide the Serie A leaders with a passage to the knockout stage.

Eto'o helped Barcelona win eight major trophies, including a historic treble last season of Spanish league, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles. The Cameroon striker vowed never to rejoice scoring at a place where he experienced such success.

"I'll never celebrate a goal in the Camp Nou," Eto'o said. "It's a house where I experienced so many more beautiful moments than bad ones."

Inter coach Jose Mourinho only played Eto'o in the second half of the team's 3-1 win over Bologna on Saturday that gives it a five-point lead in the Serie A.

"Eto'o will be a starter in Barcelona, so I made this choice to let Samuel rest a bit because his foot still isn't 100 percent," Mourinho said.

Barcelona drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, allowing Real Madrid to take a one-point lead in the Spanish league. To make matters worse, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi were among six players to miss training Sunday due to injury or illness.

Ibrahimovic, part of the offseason deal that took Eto'o to Inter, has a hamstring injury and Messi a thigh problem. Yaya Toure and Eric Abidal are out due to swine flu, but Rafael Marquez should recover from flulike symptoms and Gerard Pique is expected to play.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will also need to keep an eye on Sunday's "clasico" match against Madrid before deciding whether to select Ibrahimovic and Messi.

"What worries me is that our players recover," Guardiola said. "We need people to be available."

However, Mourinho expects his former striker to play.

"Ibrahimovic is 99.9999 percent sure to play," he said.

Barcelona lost its last match at the Camp Nou _ 2-1 to Rubin Kazan last month _ but has never been beaten in two successive European home games. The Spanish club and Rubin are on five points, one behind Inter and one in front of Dynamo Kiev.

"Tuesday, we have a final," Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "It's a duel between two of the best teams in Europe."